Artistic director of the Rockport Chamber Music Festival and classical music at Rockport Music, internationally acclaimed violinist and violist Barry Shiffman is well-respected as a musician, educator and administrator. He was co-founder of the St. Lawrence String Quartet (SLSQ), and currently serves as both the Associate Dean and Director of Chamber Music at the Glenn Gould School and Dean of the Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. During his 17 years with the SLSQ he appeared in over 2,000 concerts in venues around the globe, and recorded several critically acclaimed discs under an exclusive contract with EMI Classics. While in SLSQ, Shiffman served as artist-in-residence at Stanford University from 1998 to 2006 and as visiting artist at the University of Toronto from 1995 to 2006. He has also served in numerous roles at the Banff Centre, including Director of Music Programs (2006-2010), Artistic Director of the Centre’s Summer Music Programs (2010-2016), and Executive Director of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, which he continues to direct.  During his tenure at The Banff Centre he introduced new programming in classical music performance, composition, popular music and jazz and oversaw the dramatic growth of The Banff International String Quartet Competition (BISQC), which he continues to direct.  Recipient of the Longy School’s Nadia Boulanger Prize for Excellence in the Art of Teaching, he received his formal studies at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto, University of Toronto, Utrecht Conservatory, Hartt School of Music, Juilliard School and Yale University.