BIOGRAPHIES Academy of St Martin in the Fields
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields is one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras, renowned for fresh, brilliant interpretations of the world’s greatest orchestral music. Formed by Sir Neville Marriner in 1958 from a group of leading London musicians, the Academy gave its first performance in its namesake church in November 1959. Through unrivalled live performances and a vast recording output, the Academy quickly gained an enviable international reputation for its distinctive, polished, and refined sound. With more than 500 releases in a much-vaunted discography and a comprehensive international touring program, the sound of the Academy is known by classical audiences throughout the world. Today, the Academy is led by Music Director and virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell, retaining the collegiate spirit and flexibility of the original small, conductor-less ensemble, which has become an Academy hallmark.
Joshua Bell, violin
With a career spanning more than 30 years as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, conductor, and director, Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. Having performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world, Bell continues to maintain engagements as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. A Sony Classical artist, Bell hasrecorded more than 40 albums garnering GRAMMY®, Mercury, Gramophone, and OPUS KLASSIK awards. Named the Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields in 2011, he is the only person to hold this post since Sir Neville Marriner formed the orchestra in 1958. A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin.
Arod Quartet
With all four members only in their early twenties, the Paris-based Arod Quartet has already dazzled chamber music lovers in concerts at such prestigious venues as the Auditorium of the Louvre in Paris and the Verbier Festival in Switzerland. The Arod quickly came to international attention when they won the coveted First Prize of the 2016 ARD International Music Competition in Munich, having already taken First Prize at the Carl Nielsen Chamber Music Competition in Copenhagen. Teachers of the Arod include Mathieu Herzog and Jean Sulem, and the group currently serves as the artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels, along with the Artemis Quartet. The group takes its name from Legolas’s horse in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy; in Tolkien’s mythic Rohirric language, Arod means ‘Ú swift.’
Chris Botti
Since the release of his 2004 critically acclaimed CD When I Fall In Love, Chris Botti has become the largest-selling American instrumental artist. His success has crossed over to audiences usually reserved for pop music and his ongoing association with PBS has led to four #1 jazz albums, as well as multiple Gold, Platinum and GRAMMY® Awards. Over the past three decades, Botti has recorded and performed with the best in music, including Sting, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Yo-Yo Ma, Michael Bublé, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Andrea Bocelli, Joshua Bell, and even Frank Sinatra.
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JOLLA MUSIC SOCIETY · 2021-22 SEASON
