Violinist James Armstrong enjoys an exciting and varied freelance career across Australia. He is currently based in Melbourne, where he trained at the Australian National Academy of Music studying with Adam Chalabi and Sophie Rowell. 

Born and raised in Sydney, he began playing the violin at the age of eleven, having been enchanted by the violin’s singing quality and broad expressive range. He obtained a Bachelor of Music Performance from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he studied with Janet Davies and was the recipient of the Ted and Susan Meller Memorial Scholarship Fund. 

James was an emerging artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2024. His playing spans repertoire from new works to early music. James performs regularly with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and has recently performed with the ACO Collective, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Australian Classical and Romantic Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, Australian Haydn Ensemble, Muffat Collective and the Nomad String Quartet.

Besides his collaborative work in orchestras, James is interested in curation, particularly in chamber music settings. He was the Convenor of Chamber Music at St Andrew’s College and formed the Forelle Ensemble, a Sydney-based piano quintet, which toured in Sydney, regional NSW and ACT in 2021. Beyond the classical realm, James has performed live and recorded with artists including Godtet, Ngaiire and for ABC Jazz. James has performed in masterclasses with renowned musicians including Wayne Foster-Smith, Louis Creac’h, Midori Gotō, Shunske Sato, Anthony Marwood, the Brodsky Quartet and Leila Schayegh.