French violinist Blaise Magnière is a founding member of the Avalon String Quartet. He has appeared at festivals such as Caramoor, Mostly Mozart, La Jolla, Ravinia, Bath and Aldeburgh. His performances and conversation have been heard on BBC, CBC (Canada), ABC (Australia) and France-Musique. He has recorded for the Cedille, New Tangent, Albany and Channel Classics labels, and earned the 2002 Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Award.

Blaise Magnière holds the Richard O. Ryan Endowed Chair in Violin at Northern Illinois University. He studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England during his high-school years before going to McGill University in Montreal, where he studied with Mauricio Fuks, and to the Cleveland Institute of Music with Donald Weilerstein. As an assistant to the Juilliard String Quartet, Blaise Magnière coached chamber music at the Juilliard School.

Blaise is a fan of Chinese food, hiking and enjoys wrestling with his children.