Violinist Owen Dalby is a chamber musician, soloist, educator, and musical entrepreneur known for bringing daring and sophisticated artistry to audiences worldwide. The New York Times calls him “dazzling”; The New Yorker calls him “expert and versatile”; San Francisco Classical Voice calls him “a fearless and inquisitive violinist.”

With his wife, violist Meena Bhasin, Dalby leads Noe Music, the acclaimed San Francisco chamber series where he serves as Co-Artistic and Executive Director. Beyond its mainstage concerts, the organization runs the Lullaby Project for new families, sensory-friendly Azure performances, Well-Being concerts for audiences seeking solace, and free neighborhood Town Square concerts open to all. He teaches and performs as Artist-in-Residence at Stanford University, and beginning in 2026 takes on another artist residency at the Crowden School in Berkeley—the place where for Dalby the chamber music bug first bit. He is a frequent guest leader with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and a regular on the festival circuit, appearing at La Jolla SummerFest, Spoleto Festival USA, Music in the Vineyards, and many others.

From 2015 until the ensemble’s retirement in 2024, Dalby was a member of the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ), touring the major chamber music series of North America and Europe and appearing as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo). SLSQ was a particularly beloved ensemble in the world of contemporary string quartets, performing many dozens of concerts each season, nurturing communities of chamber music enthusiasts, and inspiring generations of young artists around the world. His acclaimed recordings include Haydn’s Op. 20 and Op. 76 quartets and Korngold’s Piano Quintet with pianist Stephen Prutsman.

Earlier, based in New York, he co-founded Decoda, Carnegie Hall’s affiliate ensemble; served as concertmaster of Novus NY, Trinity Wall Street’s contemporary-music orchestra; and performed the complete Bach cantatas and passions as a member of the Trinity Baroque Orchestra. He was an inaugural fellow of Ensemble Connect (Carnegie Hall/Juilliard) and has taught at conservatories and universities around the world.

Anne Crowden taught Dalby the violin as a teenager and convinced him that string quartet playing might be a musician’s highest calling. He tested that belief at Yale, at festivals, on the New York scene, and across his decade with SLSQ, arriving at a conviction that now shapes his work at Noe Music, Stanford, and Crowden: collaborative music-making holds the greatest potential for human connection.

Born and raised in Berkeley, California, Dalby earned undergraduate and masters’ degrees at Yale University, where his teachers included Syoko Aki and the Tokyo String Quartet. He plays a 2015 Samuel Zygmuntowicz violin that belonged to his late friend and colleague, Geoff Nuttall.