Joshua Bell has captured the public's attention like no other classical violinist of his time. His 2008-2009 season kicks off with the September world-wide Sony Classical release of Vivaldi: The Four Seasons recorded with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, his return to his alma mater-- Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music as a senior lecturer, and the tenth anniversary DVD release of The Red Violin film featuring Joshua on the Oscar-winning soundtrack for Best Original Score. Bell will be featured on the soundtrack of the Paramount Vantage film Defiance to be released in January.

An exclusive Sony Classical artist known for his breadth and daring choices of repertoire, Bell has created a richly varied catalogue of recordings. Recent releases include The Red Violin Concerto by John Corigliano, The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, The Essential Joshua Bell, Voice of the Violin and Romance of the Violin which Billboard named the 2004 Classical CD of the Year, and Bell the Classical Artist of the Year.

Mr. Bell doesn't stand in anyone's shadow." said the New York Times

After a South American tour and summer festival performances at Aspen, Ravinia, Napa, Verbier, Cortona, Sun Valley and Tanglewood, Joshua performs at the Hollywood Bowl. His 2008-2009 performance season includes concerts with the New York Philharmonic, The Los Angeles Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, Joshua performs with the Indianapolis, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Atlanta, Minnesota, Seattle, Syracuse and Oregon orchestras. Joshua will perform a recital tour in the United States with Jeremy Denk, while international dates include a tour with the Verbier UBS Festival Orchestra to Athens, Lisbon, Berlin and Munich performing Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. Joshua will also perform with the Spanish National Orchestra in Madrid, and in Paris with the Orchestra Philharmonic de Radio France. Joshua closes 2008 with a Beijing performance with the China National Symphony Orchestra. 2009 highlights include Miami's New World Symphony, Lincoln Center Great Performers Series, and a European tour with the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Osmo Vanska. After a performance at the 92nd Street Y with long-time collaborator Steven Isserlis, he returns to Europe to tour with the Camerata Academia followed by a European recital tour with Jeremy Denk. Joshua's schedule continues with performances in Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland, Denver and Phoenix.

For over two decades, Joshua Bell has enchanted audiences worldwide with his breathtaking playing and tone of rare opulence. He came to national attention at the age of 14 in a highly acclaimed orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A Carnegie Hall debut, the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a recording contract further confirmed his presence in the music world. Today he is equally at home as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra leader. His restless curiosity and multifaceted musical interests have taken him in exciting new directions that has earned him the rare title of "classical music superstar." In addition to his concert career, Bell enjoys chamber music collaborations with artists such as Pamela Frank, Steven Isserlis and Edgar Meyer. He also enjoys occasional collaborations with artists outside the classical arena, having shared the stage with Josh Groban, James Taylor and Sting.

"Bell," Gramophone stated simply,
"is dazzling."

Joshua Bell made his first recording at the age of 18. Since then he has fostered an extensive catalogue of classical recordings resulting in a distinctive and
wide-ranging body of work.

From the classical repertoire, Bell has made critically acclaimed recordings for Sony Classical of the concertos of Beethoven and Mendelssohn both featuring his own cadenzas, Sibelius and Goldmark, as well as the Grammy Award winning Nicholas Maw concerto. His Grammy-nominated recording Gershwin Fantasy premiered a new work for violin and orchestra based on themes from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Its success led to a Grammy nominated all-Bernstein recording that included the premiere of the West Side Story Suite as well as a new recording of the composer's Serenade. With the composer and double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer, Bell appeared on the Grammy-nominated crossover recording Short Trip Home and a disc of concert works by Meyer and the 19th-century composer Giovanni Bottesini. Bell also collaborated with Wynton Marsalis on the Grammy-winning spoken word children's album, Listen to the Storyteller and Bela Fleck's Grammy Award winning Perpetual Motion. He has twice performed on the Grammy Awards telecast in recent years, performing music from Short Trip Home and West Side Story Suite.

Bell received the 2008 Academy of Achievement award for exceptional accomplishment in the arts. He is the past recipient of the Mercury Music Prize for the Maw concerto recording with Sir Roger Norrington and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Germany's Echo Klassik for Sibelius/Goldmark concerto recording with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. He received the Gramophone Award for his recording of the Barber and Walton violin concertos and Bloch's Baal Shem.

With more than 30 CDs recorded, Bell's performances for Sony Classical film soundtracks include the Classical Brit-nominated Ladies in Lavender and Academy Award-winning film Iris, in an original score by James Horner while appearing as himself in the film Music of the Heart starring Meryl Streep. Millions of people are just as likely to see him on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show, CBS' "Sunday Morning" and the PBS programs Great Performances-Joshua Bell: West Side Story Suite from Central Park, Joshua Bell at the Penthouse-Live From Lincoln Center, Memorial Day Concert, Sesame Street and A&E's Biography. He was one of the first classical artists to have a music video air on VH1, and he has been the subject of a BBC Omnibus documentary. Bell has been profiled in publications ranging from Newsweek to People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People issue, Gramophone.

Stated Strad: "Joshua Bell will be the one remembered in 50 years' time."

Bell and his two sisters grew up on a farm in Bloomington, Indiana. As a child, he indulged in many passions outside of music, becoming an avid computer game player and a competitive athlete. He placed fourth in a national tennis tournament at age 10 and still keeps his racquet close by. Bell received his first violin at age four after his parents, both psychologists by profession, noticed him plucking tunes with rubber bands he had stretched around the handles of his dresser drawers. By 12 he was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to the inspiration of renowned violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold,
who had become his beloved
teacher and mentor.

In 1989, Bell received an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance from Indiana University. His alma mater also honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award only two years after his graduation. He has been named an "Indiana Living Legend" and received the Indiana Governor's Arts Award. In '05 he was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Bell currently serves
on the Artist Committee of the
Kennedy Center Honors.

Joshua Bell plays the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius.