(Eleanor) Kendra James was born in Canada in 1987. She began to study violin at the age of four and changed to viola at fourteen. Her teachers have included Isabelle Roland and Gerald Stanick. Kendra has participated in prestigious summer programs in Canada and travelled to China in 2006 to work with Rennie Regher, Roberto Diaz and members of the Shanghai String Quartet. She currently studies with Paul Coletti at the Colburn School of Music in Los Angeles.