Joshua Bell

Joshua Bell is a world-acclaimed violist and conductor, famed for his breath-taking virtuosity, tone of sheer beauty and charismatic stage presence, often referred to as the ‘poet of the violin’ and as a ‘classical music superstar’. Bell studied violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and in 1985, at the age of seventeen, he made his Carnegie Hall debut. He has since performed internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra leader and recorded over 40 cd’s. For his outstanding achievements in classical music, he has been internationally acknowledged with, amongst others, a Grammy Award and the Avery Fisher Prize. Currently, Bell is the Music Director of the renowned Academy of St Martin in the Field in London, celebrating the orchestra’s jubilee with the performance and recording of all of Bach violin concertos. Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin, of which the remarkable story is featured in the documentary The Return of the Violin (2012).