Paul Kantor (born November 29, 1955) is an American violin teacher. Kantor is a professor at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He continues the pedagogical lineage of Dorothy DeLay. He is often selected to participate as a jury member for international violin competitions.
Kantor is currently the Sally Shepherd Perkins Professor of violin at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, having previously served as the Eleanor H. Biggs Memorial Distinguished Professor of Violin at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He received Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the Juilliard School, studying violin with Dorothy DeLay and chamber music with Robert Mann. He served as chair of the string department at the University of Michigan for 13 years and has served on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory and Yale University. He was appointed as artist-in-residence of The Glenn Gould School/ Royal Conservatory of Music and has been on its faculty since 2008. In addition, he has presented master classes at institutions including Indiana University, Eastman School of Music, and the New World Symphony Orchestra, among others. His students consistently win major awards at international competitions including the Klein Competition, Fischoff Competition, Stulberg International String Competition, International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and the Montreal International Violin Competition, among others.