Justin Bruns began his tenure as North Carolina Symphony Concertmaster in September of 2025, coming from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra where he held the position of Associate Concertmaster. He was previously Assistant Concertmaster at the Colorado Symphony. A seasoned orchestral leader and passionate chamber musician, Bruns is concertmaster of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music and Bellingham Music Festival, and has served as guest concertmaster with the São Paulo Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, and others. His chamber music highlights include a Carnegie Hall debut, residences at the Savannah and San Miguel Chamber Music Festivals, world premieres of two dozen works, and frequent performance broadcasts on Performance Today.
A committed educator, Bruns has mentored students at Emory University, the National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, the NTSO Festival in Taiwan, and as an advisor and faculty of the ASO’s Talent Development Program. Bruns graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan and earned his master’s degree from Rice University.
A devoted and active chamber musician, Bruns has appeared with numerous ensembles, among them Atlanta, Georgian, Michigan, Palladium (St. Petersburg) and Riverside Chamber Players, and at the Savannah and San Miguel Chamber Music Festivals, and Carnegie Hall. He has an affinity for performing the sonata cycles of Beethoven, Brahms, and late-Viennese Mozart and for bringing new and obscure pieces for solo violin to new audiences.
During summers he has appeared at the music festivals of Aspen, Beijing, BRAVO (Vail), Chamber Music of the Black Hills, Mainly Mozart in San Diego, Music in the Mountains (Durango), NTSO (Taiwan), and Steamboat Springs Strings and as faculty of National Youth Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. This summer he solos with the Fortismere Symphony in London and Bellingham Music Festival, concertmasters at Bellingham, Cabrillo, Lakes Area Music Festival and the International Viola Congress, and performs chamber music with Lake Tahoe Chamber Music Society and Jackson Hole Chamber Music Festival.
Bruns began violin studies at age three and won his first competition two years later. He made his solo debut at age nine and since then has performed throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Bruns graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan and was awarded the top prize upon graduation, the Stanley Medal. He received his master’s degree from Rice University. Bruns has recorded with Pearl Jam, Faith Hill, and Bruce Springsteen. He has premiered solo and chamber works by Michael Gandolfi, Jennifer Higdon, Michael Kurth, Seyed Safavynia, and DJ Sparr.