Joseph Swensen

Last updated

Joseph Swensen
Born1960 (age 6364)
Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
EraContemporary

Joseph Swensen is a conductor, violinist, and composer. He is winner of awards, including the Leventritt Foundation Sponsorship Award and the Avery Fisher Career Award. In 2000, Swensen was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews, Scotland. [1] In 2014, he gave a TedX talk with the title “Habitats for Music and the Sound of Math” about music education and the developing brain, at the New York Institute of Technology.

Contents

Early life and education

Joseph Swensen was born in 1960 in Hoboken, New Jersey, and grew up in Spring Valley, New York, Pearl River, New York and Harlem, New York City. [2] His mother, Kikue Swenson was Japanese-American and has played and taught piano for most of her life. His father is Norwegian-American. He studied music at the Juilliard School, where his teachers included Dorothy DeLay. [3]

Soloist

Until his thirties, Swensen's career was as a violin soloist. He performed in major cultural centres, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, as well as in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Boston. During his early career recording with BMG Classics, [4] [5] he recorded the major violin concerto repertoire with conductors such as André Previn. [6] More recently, he has recorded as soloist with The Scottish Chamber Orchestra. [7] He now combines a career as soloist and chamber musician with that of conducting. [8] [9]

Conducting

Swensen currently holds the post of Conductor Emeritus of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, [10] where he was Principal Conductor from 19962005 during which time Swensen and the orchestra followed a regular concert schedule in Scotland [11] and toured extensively in the UK, [12] Europe, US, and the Far East. They also performed at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, Tanglewood and Ravinia Festivals, the BBC Proms, the Barbican, and the Concertgebouw, and recorded for Linn Records. [13] From 20062011, he was music director with Malmő Opera and is guest conductor for a number of UK, [14] European [15] and American orchestras. [16] Succeeding Paul Daniel, Joseph Swensen was appointed musical director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine (ONBA) in May 2023 as of the 20242025 season. [17]

Teaching

Joseph Swensen joined IU in 2013. He is appointed Starling Professor of Music (violin) at Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music in 2014. [18] Along with his wife, Victoria Swensen, he founded Habitat4Music, a non-profit organization devoted to establishing participatory music education programmes for children in musically under-served areas worldwide. [19] At the Habitat4Music Centre in Vermont Swensen held "Total Immersion" courses in important composers for professional musicians and conductors. [20]

Selected Recordings

Selected Compositions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Stern</span> American violinist (1920–2001)

Isaac Stern was an American violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itzhak Perlman</span> Israeli-American violinist (born 1945)

Itzhak Perlman is an Israeli-American violinist. He has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that have included a state dinner for Elizabeth II at the White House in 2007, and at the 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama. He has conducted the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Westchester Philharmonic. In 2015, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Perlman has won 16 Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and four Emmy Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paavo Berglund</span> Finnish conductor and violinist

Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund was a Finnish conductor and violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Stock</span> German conductor and composer (1872–1942)

Frederick Stock was a German conductor and composer, most famous for his 37-year tenure as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

James Ehnes, is a Canadian concert violinist and violist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlomo Mintz</span> Israeli violin virtuoso, violist and conductor

Shlomo Mintz is a Russian-born Israeli violinist and conductor. He regularly appears with orchestras and conductors on the international scene and is heard in recitals and chamber music concerts around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Susskind</span> Czech-born British conductor, teacher and pianist

Jan Walter Susskind was a Czech-born British conductor, teacher and pianist. He began his career in his native Prague and travelled to London in March 1939 when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. He worked for substantial periods in Australia, Canada and the United States, as a conductor and teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Manze</span> British conductor and violinist

Andrew Manze is a British conductor and violinist, noted for his interpretation of Baroque violin music.

D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolaj Znaider</span> Danish violinist and conductor (born 1975)

Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider is a Danish violinist and conductor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Batiashvili</span> Georgian musician (born 1979)

Elisabeth Batiashvili, professionally known as Lisa Batiashvili, is a prominent Georgian violinist active across Europe and the United States. A former New York Philharmonic artist-in-residence, she is acclaimed for her "natural elegance, silky sound and the meticulous grace of her articulation". Batiashvili makes frequent appearances at high-profile international events; she was the violin soloist at the 2018 Nobel Prize concert.

Daniel Müller-Schott is a German cellist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustin Hadelich</span> Italian-German-American violinist (born 1984)

Augustin Hadelich is an Italian-German-American Grammy-winning classical violinist.

Ralph Henry Kirshbaum is an American cellist. His award-winning career combines the worlds of solo performance, chamber music, recording and pedagogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boris Belkin</span> Musical artist

Boris Davidovich Belkin is a Soviet-born violin virtuoso.

Gerhard Taschner was a noted German violinist and teacher.

The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) are music awards first awarded 6 April 2011. ICMA replace the Cannes Classical Awards formerly awarded at MIDEM. The jury consists of music critics of magazines Andante, Crescendo, Fono Forum, Gramofon, Kultura, Musica, Musik & Theater, Opera, Pizzicato, Rondo Classic, Scherzo, with radio stations MDR Kultur (Germany), Orpheus Radio 99.2FM (Russia), Radio 100,7 (Luxembourg), the International Music and Media Centre (IMZ) (Austria), website Resmusica.com (France) and radio Classic (Finland).

Peter Bruns is a German cellist and university professor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antje Weithaas</span> German violinist (born 1966)

Antje Weithaas is a German classical violinist. Apart from solo recitals and chamber music performances, she has played with leading orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States.

The conductor Bernard Haitink recorded works, especially symphonies and other orchestral works, with different orchestras. He made recordings for several labels, including Philips Records, EMI Classics, Columbia Records, LSO Live, RCO Live, and CSO Resound.

References

  1. "Honour for Scottish Chamber Orchestra conductor". University of St Andrews. March 10, 2000. Retrieved February 9, 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. Niles, Laurie. "Grigory Kalinovsky and Joseph Swensen named Starling Professors of Violin at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music". Violinist.com. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  3. "Joseph Swensen, violin". Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  4. "Joseph Swensen". Discogs. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  5. "Conductor Joseph Swensen". Carl Nielsen Masterclass. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  6. Oliver, Michael (n.d.). "Beethoven Violin Concerto; Romances". Gramaphone Reviews. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  7. "Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor". www.classical-music.com: The official website of BBC Music Magazine. BBC. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  8. Schwartz, KI Robert. "MUSIC; To the Podium Born: A True Believer". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  9. Ponnekanti, Rosemary. "Three partners, three profiles: Joseph Swensen". The News Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  10. Thompson, Simon. "SEEN AND HEARD UK CONCERT REVIEW: Borodin, Sibelius, Beethoven: Henning Kraggerud (violin), Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Joseph Swensen (conductor), Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 15.10.2009". MusicWeb. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  11. Allen, James (October 8, 2002). "Swensen fleshes out a jubilant Ninth: James Allen reviews the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by Swensen at City Hall, Glasgow". The Telegraph. U.K. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  12. Evans, Rian (February 4, 2004). "BBC NOW / Swensen, St David's Hall, Cardiff". The Guardian. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  13. Rogers, Claire (2004). "Brahms Violin Concerto, Hungarian Dances Review". www.bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  14. Schweitzer, Louise. "London Philharmonic Orchestra, Brighton Dome Concert Hall, March 22". The Argus. Retrieved February 23, 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. "Joseph Swensen". Signum Classics. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
  16. "Meet the Artistic Partners". Northwest Sinfonietta. Archived from the original on February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  17. https://www.pizzicato.lu/joseph-swensen-appointed-music-director-of-the-orchestre-national-bordeaux-aquitaine/
  18. "IU Jacobs School of Music appoints Joseph Swensen to violin faculty". The Strad. April 18, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  19. "Habitat4Music". habitat4music.org. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  20. ""Total Immersion" at Habitat4Music". habitat4music.org. Habitat4Music. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  21. "Johannes Brahms Sinfonia in B orchestrated". World Cat. Signum. Retrieved March 1, 2016.