Biography
Praised as "a dramatic violin soloist" and “an artist of exceptional refinement,” James Lyon’s performances have taken him around the globe to places as varied as Amman (Jordan), Beijing (China), Salvador (Brazil), and New York City’s Carnegie Hall. He has presented masterclasses at the Central Conservatory of Music in China, the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, the Paris Conservatory, and at the Eastman School of Music, as well as at numerous colleges and universities in the United States. Prior to his appointment at Penn State, Lyon was a member of the Harrington Quartet, 1987 Grand Prize Winners of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and Artists-in-Residence at West Texas State University.
Lyon's students have been national prizewinners in both the Young Artists Division of the Music Teachers National Association Competition and the American String Teachers Association Solo Competition, as well as numerous local and regional competitions. They perform in the Lydian Quartet, the Triforce Quartet, the U.S. Army Strings, the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Diego Symphony (concertmaster), the Pittsburgh Opera orchestra, the Baton Rouge Symphony (Associate Concertmaster), and other fine orchestras. His students have been on the faculties of Brandeis University, Louisiana State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Rider University, Grove City College, and Lycoming College. Numerous students have become outstanding music educators, as well as private teachers of violin.
Professor Lyon has been honored to be awarded Penn State’s George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, as well as multiple teaching awards from the Pennsylvania-Delaware String Teacher's Association. He was also named a Schreyer Distinguished Honors Professor from 2011–14 and again in 2024–25. His recently recorded album TURNING has been acclaimed “a fine disc” by Fanfare Magazine and his previous recordings include several works by prominent women composers of the 19th century. His recording with the Castalia Trio of works by Brahms and Ravel was honored with the Sound Stage Award shortly after it was released on Skrvna Records in the Czech Republic.
James Lyon is a professor of music at Penn State and is a member of the violin and chamber music faculty at the Wintergreen Music Festival in Virginia. He performs on an 1869 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin, as well a 1983 violin crafted by American luthier David Burgess. He is married to cellist Carol Lyon and resides in Boalsburg, PA.