Dynamic violinist Jin-Shan Dai has performed extensively throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He joined the Toronto Symphony in September 2004, and made his TSO solo début in 2008. Mr. Dai is the recipient of numerous prizes and accolades, among them top prizes in the 2000 Emerson International Chamber Music Competition and the 2000 Van Rooy National Violin Competition. Mr. Dai performs frequently as a chamber musician, and has collaborated with such artists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Lowell Liebermann, and members of the Emerson Quartet. His chamber music performances have brought him to the Taos Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico, the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan, as well as the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. Mr. Dai enjoys playing chamber music with colleagues from the TSO in the 5 Small Concerts series held by the Toronto Symphony Associates, and also performs frequently with Via Salzburg in Toronto.

Prior to his joining the Toronto Symphony, Mr. Dai held leading positions in festival orchestras such as the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival in Germany, the Jerusalem International Music Festival in Israel, and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. He has also been a member of the New Haven Symphony and the Hartford Symphony in Connecticut. In 2006, Mr.Dai was invited to play in the Worldwide Chinese Orchestra for their New Years concert in Shanghai, which was broadcast on radio and television for an audience of more than 5 million listeners.

Mr. Dai is a member of the Bach Consort ensemble, a charity organization in Toronto that exclusively performs works by J.S. Bach to raise money for charities that provide scholarships for students and raise money for hospitals.

A native of China, Mr. Dai migrated to the United Stated in 1997. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and later received his Bachelors degree from the Hartt School in Connecticut and Masters degree from Yale University. His principal teachers included Peter Oundjian, Ani Kavafian, Eugene Drucker, and Philip Setzer.