Praised as “dazzling” (The New York Times), “expert and versatile” (The New Yorker), and “a fearless and inquisitive violinist” (San Francisco Classical Voice), Owen Dalby leads a rich musical life as a soloist, chamber musician, new and early music expert, orchestral concertmaster, and educator. He is Artist-in-Residence at Stanford University and lives in San Francisco, California.

As a member of the St Lawrence String Quartet from 2015 until the group’s retirement in 2024, Owen toured all of the major chamber series in North America and Europe, and made solo appearances with the LA Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the NHK Philharmonic (Tokyo). Acclaimed recordings include Haydn Opus 20 (EASonus), as well as his String Quartets Op. 76 and Korngold’s Piano Quintet Op. 15 with Stephen Prutsman (Phenotypic Recordings). SLSQ was a particularly beloved ensemble in the world of contemporary string quartets, performing many dozens of concerts each season, inspiring and nurturing communities of chamber music enthusiasts, and influencing generations of young artists.

Prior to joining the SLSQ, Owen lived in New York City where he co-founded Decoda, the affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall, and was also the concertmaster of Novus NY, the contemporary music orchestra of Trinity Wall Street. He was also a key member of the Trinity Baroque Orchestra, performing the complete cantatas and passions of JS Bach alongside other great 16th and 17th century repertoire. He made his Lincoln Center debut in 2010 with Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Violin and Percussion Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall, and that same year gave the world premiere of Look Around You, a one-man double concerto by Timo Andres for solo violin and viola, with the Albany Symphony Orchestra.

In 2010 Owen completed a three-year tenure with Ensemble Connect (formerly known as Ensemble ACJW), a fellowship of Carnegie Hall and the Juilliard School that seeks to link a performer's life with advanced training in education and community engagement. In addition to co-directing the chamber music program and maintaining a violin studio at Stanford, Owen has taught music to students in masterclasses in Mexico, Iceland, at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program in Aldeburgh, UK, the Eastman School of Music, the San Francisco Conservatory, Princeton University, Skidmore College, and the University of South Carolina, among many other places.

Owen is regularly invited to perform chamber music at festivals from Hamburg to Honolulu, and from Iceland to Mumbai. His many chamber music collaborators have included Stephen Prutsman, Inon Barnatan, Anne-Marie McDermott, the Danish String Quartet, Daniel Hope, Christian Tetzlaff, Dawn Upshaw, the Persian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor, and Simon Rattle.

Owen received early training with Anne Crowden at the Crowden School in Berkeley, CA and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Yale University where he studied with Syoko Aki. With his wife, violist Meena Bhasin, Owen is co-Artistic and Executive Director of Noe Music, a chamber music series in San Francisco, where they make their home with their children Leila and Knight.

Owen performs on the “Fetzer” Stradivarius made in Cremona in 1694.