Guide Note

Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell began studying violin at the age of 4. He appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 14 and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Since that time, Bell has had both a major concert and recording career, having won a Grammy for his recording of Nicholas Maw's violin concerto and performed the solo violin part on John Corigliano's Oscar-winning soundtrack for the film The Red Violin.

Bell is a visiting professor with the Royal Academy of Music in London and an adjunct associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In January 2007, Bell participated in a much-publicized experiment with The Washington Post in which he played in a Washington DC Metro station during morning rush hour to see if "beauty would transcend" the environment. Of the 1,097 people that passed him, one seven stopped to listen. The experiment was videotaped and circulated online.

In April 2007, Bell was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize.

Fast Facts

1. Born: December 9, 1967
2. Birthplace: Bloomington, Indiana
3. Made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985
4. Awarded the Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding instrumental achievement
5. Currently resides in New York City
6. Studied with Josef Gingold
7. Plays a 300-year old Stradivarius violin called the Gibson ex Huberman