Joshua Bell Performs With Los Angeles Philharmonic

The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association presents Grammy-winning violinist Joshua Bell as soloist and director leading the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in Vivaldi's beloved Four Seasons on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 8 p.m. This concert is part of the Philharmonic's 2006/2007 Baroque Variations series, and is Bell's final On Location appearance at Walt Disney Concert Hall this season.

The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields also performs Tchaikovsky's Meditation from Souvenir d'un lieu cher with Bell as soloist, and Serenade for Strings, led by Bell.

Russell Steinberg, composer and conductor of the Los Angeles Youth Orchestra, discusses the concert program at "Upbeat Live," a free event in BP Hall, open to all ticket holders and held one hour before the performance.

Equally adept as soloist, chamber musician, and orchestra leader, Joshua Bell has been captivating audiences worldwide with his poetic musicality. His On Location residency with the Los Angeles Philharmonic closes with this one-night-only performance with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. This acclaimed ensemble is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world, with a record-breaking discography that boasts well over 500 entries. The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields made its debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall debut during the 2003/04 opening season, in the Baroque Variations series premiere.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic's four-concert Baroque Variations series offers presentations of Baroque music on both period and modern instruments performed by some of the world's most admired ensembles and soloists. The 2006/07 series concludes on April 26, 2007 with Il Giardino Armonico and Giovanni Antonini.

Grammy-winning violinist JOSHUA BELL has been captivating audiences around the globe for more than 20 years. Bell came to national attention at age 14 in his orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. A Carnegie Hall debut, the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and a recording contract confirmed his presence in the music world. Now in his 30s, Bell has performed with the world's leading symphony orchestras and conductors, has recorded 28 albums, and has earned the status of classical music superstar. Billboard named him its 2004 Classical Artist of the Year and named his recording, Romance of the Violin, the 2004 Classical Album of the Year. Bell's recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas has just been released.

Bell received a Grammy award for his recording of Nicholas Maw's Violin Concerto, and millions have enjoyed his appearances on the Grammy Award telecasts, the PBS specials "Joshua Bell at the Penthouse: Live From Lincoln Center" and "Joshua Bell: West Side Story Suite from Central Park," as well as Evening at Pops and the Indy 500 Victory Celebration. Bell has been the subject of a BBC documentary and appeared as himself in Music of the Heart starring Meryl Streep. Bell serves on the Artist Committee of the Kennedy Center Honors. He plays the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius. -- www.laphil.com