Born in 1964 in Romilly-sur-Seine, France, Philippe Graffin first studied the violin in Marseille, then at the Paris Conservatoire from where he graduated with a first prize at the age of sixteen. He then came to the United States to study with Professor Josef Gingold in Bloomington, Indiana. Other teachers included Miriam Fried and the Russian violinist Philipp Hirschhorn.

In 1987 Mr. Graffin was a laureate from the Fritz Kreisler Competition in Austria where Lord Menuhin heard him during a gala concert presented on Eurovision. Lord Menuhin subsequently invited him to make his first recording with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under his baton and introduced him to his native audience on French television. Since then Mr. Graffin has appeared throughout Europe and has been invited as a soloist by such renowned ensembles as The Czech Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, The Residentie Orchestra of the Hague, The Philharmonic Georges Enescu Bucarest, The Nash Ensemble of London ...

Mr. Graffin's wide musical interests have also led him to performances on period instruments as well as working with and premiering works of contemporary composers such as Sofia Gubaïdulina, Edison Denisov, Vassili Lobanov, Henri Dutilleux and numerous French composers of the new generation.

A passionate chamber musician, he regularly partners the leading soloists of his generation (the cellists Truls Mørk, Gary Hoffman, pianists Jeremy Menuhin, Pascal Devoyon, Artur Pizarro) at various festivals. In 1995 Mr Graffin was the artistic director of the Ysaÿe Festival at Wigmore Hall in London, and in 1996 of the Ysaÿe Concert Series organized in Holland by the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague.

Philippe Graffin plays a violin by Domenico Busano, made in Venice around 1750.