Joshua Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana in 1967. His parents are both therapists and he has two sisters. Growing up, he wasn’t just interested in violin and music. He also loved video games, sports, computers, and cars. In other words, he was a typical teenage boy! But once he fell in love with that instrument that was all he wanted to do! Here are several facts about the life of the amazing violinist, Joshua Bell.
- Bell is an American violinist and conductor.
- Bell’s parents gave him violin lessons at age 4 when they found him taking rubber bands and stretching them across furniture all over the house and plucking them to hear the music he heard his mother play on the piano.
- Bell got serious about playing the violin around age 12, when he starting studying seriously with Josef Gingold.
- When Bell was 14 years old, he appeared as a soloist for the first time with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
- Bell studied violin at Indiana University after graduating high school in 1984.
- Bell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985, when he was only 17 years old! He played with the St. Louis Symphony.
- Bell’s violin is a 300-year old Stradivarius that was made in 1713.
- Bell is an artistic partner for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is also on the artists selection committee for the Kennedy Center Honors and an adjunct associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
- Bell was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize in 2007 at Lincoln Center in New York City. This prize is presented to classical musicians for outstanding achievement.
- Bell has toured all over the world, performing concert in many countries, including the US, Paris, London, Tokyo, Israel, and many places in Asia.
- Bell has recorded over 40 CDs since his first at age 18.
- In 2007, Bell participated in an experiment with The Washington Post in which he played his violin in the subway of Washington DC dressed in regular clothes and a baseball cap. Over 1,000 people passed by him and only 7 stopped to listen. After playing for 45 minutes, Bell had collected $32.17 from the people who passed by and only one person recognized him. He played the same music three days earlier for a concert where he earned a considerable amount more!
- Bell appeared in the movie Music of the Heart, which is a story about the power of music and included many notable violinists. He also collaborated with film composer Hans Zimmer to provide violin solos for the 2009 movie Angels & Demons. In 2016, he appeared in a cameo role on a musical episode of the TV show Royal Pains.
- Bell is a strong believer that music is both an educational and diplomatic tool. He has performed for three US Presidents and the President of China. He has also devoted himself to several charitable causes having to do with music education for children.
- Bell was named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in May of 2000.
You could be the next Joshua Bell! All you need is some violin lessons and some musical passion! Check out our website for information on violin lessons today! www.omahaschoolofmusicanddance.com/violin-fiddle-viola-cello-lessons-omaha-ne/
