Adrian Justus

Adrian Justus is a Mexican classical violinist, recognized for his international solo performances, orchestral collaborations, and contributions to contemporary chamber music. Justus is a recipient of the Gold Medal at the Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition and the Mozart Medal awarded by the Domecq Cultural Institute and Artists International Competition, New York.

Early life and education Adrian Justus was born in Mexico City into a Hungarian-Jewish family to Roberto Justus, a dentist and former chairman of the World Association of Orthodontists, who introduced him to the violin and was his first teacher.

Justus began formal violin studies at the age of 6 with Roberto Vazka, followed by instruction from Yuriko Kuronuma at her school in Coyoacan, Mexico City and later with Stanislav Kawalla in Jalapa, Veracruz. His early performance career began at 14 years old during a tour of Japan with the Yuriko Kuronuma Academy, where he played Gypsy Airs by Sarasate with Fujisawa Orchestra.

He later studied under Zvi Zeitlin at the Eastman School of Music, part of the University of Rochester, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts and was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. Subsequently, he received a scholarship from the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts to continue his studies. He further trained with Maya Glazerova in Tel Aviv and Moscow. He studied under Pinchas Zukerman in his Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, where he completed his master’s degree.

Career Justus began performing internationally at the age of 14, when he toured Japan as part of an ensemble led by Yuriko Kuronuma.

Over the course of his career, he has appeared as a soloist at Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall and the Barbican Centre in London, Suntory and Kyoi Halls in Tokyo, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Henry Crown Hall in Jerusalem, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, the Spanish Hall at Prague Castle, and Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes and Sala Nezahualcóyotl. 1997 – Mozart Medal, Domecq Cultural Institute, Mexico City 2002 – Artists International Competition Winner, New York 2024 – Award of Honor as Concert Violinist, Cultural Institute Mexico–Israel