Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell is an award-winning American violinist and Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Having recorded 26 albums, he more than deserved the rare title of classical music superstar.
Born December 9, 1967 and raised in Indiana, Joshua received his first violin at the age of four, after his parents noticed him plucking tunes with rubber bands stretched around the drawer handles of his dresser.
Under the direction of renowned violinist and teacher Josef Gingold, Joshua has continued to perform with almost all major orchestras and symphony conductors.
At the age of 18 Joshua signed his first recording contract with London / Decca, for whom he recorded much of the classical violin repertoire.
Seeking to broaden his musical horizons, he joined Sony Classical in 1996 – a relationship that spawned a diverse collection of albums.
From 2002 to 2003, Joshua appeared at the Aspen, Verbier, Tanglewood, Saratoga and Blossom festivals, the Pacific Music Festival in Japan and the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in London, as well as concerts with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Rome.
Joshua has also performed on a number of film soundtracks, including Hans Zimmer’s score for Angels and Demons and Iris, composed by James Horner.
With his orchestra, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Joshua served as Classic FM’s Artist in Residence for a year starting in September 2015.
In 2002, Joshua Bell’s Grammy-winning recording of the West Side Story Suite, based on the work of Leonard Bernstein, was highlighted with a performance on the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. The same music was featured on the 2001 PBS Great Performances special.
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