Leila Bronia Josefowicz ( ; born October 20, 1977) is an American-Canadian classical

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 regu ...

ist.

Biography

Josefowicz was born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. When she was a young child her family moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where she started studying

at the age of three and a half using the Suzuki method. Her father, physicist Jack Josefowicz, and mother, biologist Wendy Josefowicz, learned with her. At age five she started formal lessons with Idel Low. At seven she began studies with the distinguished violin teacher Robert Lipsett at The Colburn School. Leila's parents, valuing a well-rounded education, believed that both she and her brother Steven should stay in the public school system, and Leila attended public middle and high school despite a very full schedule of music activities. When Leila was 13 the Josefowiczes moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

so she could attend the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with

Jaime Laredo Jaime Laredo (born June 7, 1941) is a violinist and Conducting, conductor. He was the conductor and Music Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and he began his musical career when he was five years old. Laredo was born in Cochabamba, Boliv ...

, Jascha Brodsky,

Felix Galimir Felix Galimir (May 20, 1910, Vienna – November 10, 1999, New York) was an Austrian-born American violinist and music teacher. Born in a Sephardic Jewish family Vienna; his first language was Ladino. Allan Kozinn,"Felix Galimir, 89, a Viol ...

and Joseph Gingold. Leila also attended the Julia R. Masterman School in

while at Curtis, completing a

bachelor of music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

degree and her high school diploma in the same year.

Career

While still in her teens, Josefowicz played with symphony orchestras in Europe, Asia and North America, including Philadelphia, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Boston, Montreal and Toronto. Josefowicz made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1994 performing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. The same year she signed an exclusive recording contract with

Philips Classics Philips Classics Records was started in the 1980s as the new classics record label for Philips Records. It was successful with artists including Alfred Brendel, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fie ...

, recording the Tchaikovsky and

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

concertos. Other recordings followed on Warner Classics,

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

and

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

labels that include masterworks for solo violin, recital repertoire and the concertos of Romantic and

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

composers. Josefowicz has kept a busy international schedule as a soloist, performing regularly around the world, including North and South America, Europe, Japan, China, New Zealand and Australia. She has a strong interest in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, improvisation, and new music. Josefowicz is acclaimed for championing new compositions, including works by

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

Oliver Knussen Stuart Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a British composer and conductor. Early life Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and a ...

Thomas Adès Thomas Joseph Edmund Adès (born 1 March 1971) is a British composer, pianist and conductor. Five compositions by Adès received votes in the 2017 Classic Voice poll of the greatest works of art music since 2000: '' The Tempest'' (2004), '' ...

and

Luca Francesconi Luca Francesconi (born 17 March 1956) is an Italian composer. He studied at the Milan Conservatory, then with Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luciano Berio. Early years Luca Francesconi was born in Milan. His father was a painter who edited ''Il ...

. In 2008–09 she performed the world premiere of the violin concerto written for her by

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

, for which he won the Grawemeyer Prize, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (April 2009);

Steven Mackey Steven ("Steve") Mackey (born February 14, 1956) is an American composer, guitarist, and music educator. Life As a musician growing up listening to and performing vernacular American musics as well as classical music, Mackey's compositions are i ...

wrote a violin concerto for Josefowicz that was given its world premiere with the

St. Louis Symphony The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...

(October 2008); and

Colin Matthews Colin Matthews, OBE (born 13 February 1946) is an English composer of contemporary classical music. Noted for his large-scale orchestral compositions, Matthews is also a prolific arranger of other composer's music, including works by Berlioz, ...

wrote a concerto for her that had its world premiere with the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

(September 2009). In 2014 she gave the world premiere of the concerto ''Duende'' written for her by Luca Francesconi, for which he won the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award. In 2015 she gave the world premiere of the concerto '' Scheherazade.2'', written for Josefowicz by

, with the New York Philharmonic. Josefowicz continues to play traditional masterworks and contemporary compositions with ensembles including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Salonen), New York City Ballet Orchestra (Salonen), San Francisco Symphony (Adams and Salonen), St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (Adès), Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Matthews), New World Symphony (Adès), Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Knussen), Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra (Mackey), Cleveland Orchestra (Adams), Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Adès), Minnesota Orchestra (Vänskä), and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (Adès). Some of her recent and upcoming engagements in Europe include appearances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich and Czech Philharmonics, and the London Symphony; performances of the new Salonen concerto in Paris, Stockholm, Lisbon and Ferrara, Italy with the composer on the podium; and a fifth appearance at the London Proms. Josefowicz received an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1994. In 2007 she was named a USA Cummings Fellow,

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

. For her advocacy of new contemporary works for the violin, Josefowicz was named a 2008

MacArthur Fellow The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

. In 2018 she was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize

References

External links

Leila Josefowicz – The Official WebsiteCummings Foundation Fellows 2007United States Artists Arts Advocacy Organization.photo link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Josefowicz, Leila 1977 births American classical violinists Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian classical violinists Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish Canadian musicians Living people Musicians from Mississauga Musicians from Los Angeles Curtis Institute of Music alumni MacArthur Fellows Child classical musicians Jewish classical violinists Women classical violinists 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century classical violinists 20th-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers 21st-century Canadian violinists and fiddlers Canadian women violinists and fiddlers 21st-century American violinists