William (Bill) Barbini (born 1947) is an American

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist. He took his diploma from

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in 1970, studying with

Ivan Galamian Ivan Alexander Galamian ( hy, Իվան Ղալամեան; April 14, 1981) was an Armenian-American violin teacher of the twentieth century who was the violin teacher of many seminal violin players including Itzhak Perlman. Biography Galamian w ...

among others. He thereafter became one of the youngest members selected to the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

violin section. During his tenure with the NY Philharmonic, Barbini also performed as principal violinist with the Gramercy String Quartet. With Barbini as principal, the Gramercy was commissioned by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

for a number of pre-concert performances at

Avery Fisher Hall David Geffen Hall is a concert hall in New York City's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 2,200-seat auditorium opened in 1962, and is the home of the New York Philharmonic. The facility, designe ...

. While in New York, Barbini also served as

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

for the

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric O ...

and soloist with the Festival Orchestra at the Norwalk Performing Arts Festival.

Chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

has been a focus of Barbini's career. He has performed with the

Philharmonia Quartet The Philharmonia Quartet was an English string quartet musical ensemble founded during the early 1940s out of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, though some of its members had collaborated during the 1930s in earlier ensembles. The formal career ...

, Balihry Piano Trio, San Francisco Contemporary Players and Music Now. In 1983, Barbini was appointed concertmaster of the Sacramento Symphony, and in 1984 he joined the

Sacramento State University California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

music department. Barbini serves on the faculty of the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodgh ...

, as music director of the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento, and as concertmaster of the Ariel Ensemble. Barbini is also concertmaster for Chico Symphony, Monterey Symphony, Pro Art Symphony and Classical Philharmonic. He has also performed with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. In addition to a lifelong collaboration with the violinist Kineko Okumura, Barbini has performed in recitals worldwide, and in

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

performances with

Tonkünstler Orchestra The Tonkunstler Orchestra (German: ''Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich'', ) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna and Sankt Pölten, Lower Austria. Origin of the name The orchestra's name has its origins in the ''Tonkünstler-Soziet� ...

, Niagara Falls Philharmonic,

Lancaster Symphony Orchestra The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra is a local orchestra in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It performs year-round at the city's historical Fulton Opera House and consists of many highly talented musicians from around the area. It is a member of the America ...

and the

. Barbini is also a regular guest at international music festivals, including the

Pacific Music Festival The Pacific Music Festival (パシフィック・ミュージック・フェスティバル) is an international classical music festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1990 by Leonard Bernstein, along with the London Symphony Or ...

, Festival of New American Music, Festival de San Miguel Allende and the Other Minds Festival.

Instrument

Barbini's primary instrument is a Guarnerius del Gesù violin built in the early 1700s.

Discography

*Principal violin on Marco Beltrami's ''Hellboy Soundtrack'', Varèse Sarabande, 2004 *Howard Hersh: ''The Pony Concerto - Chamber Music, 2000-2005'', Albany Records, 2007Chamber Music 2000-2005
allmusic.com

References

External links

American classical violinists Male classical violinists American male violinists Concertmasters Living people Juilliard School alumni 1947 births 21st-century classical violinists 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century American violinists {{US-violinist-stub