Joseph Swensen is a

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

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, 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 (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, Scotland. In 2014, he gave a

TedX TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

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.

Early life and education

Joseph Swensen was born in 1960 in

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

, and grew up in Spring Valley, New York, Pearl River, New York and

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, New York City. 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 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 ...

, where his teachers included

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine Lo ...

Soloist

Until his thirties, Swensen's career was as a violin soloist. He performed in major cultural centres, including Carnegie Hall,

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

and the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, as well as in

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San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. During his early career recording with BMG Classics, he recorded the major violin concerto repertoire with conductors such as

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieve ...

. More recently, he has recorded as soloist with The

Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and ...

. He now combines a career as soloist and chamber musician with that of conducting.

Conducting

Swensen currently holds the post of Conductor Emeritus of the

, where he was Principal Conductor from 1996-2005 during which time Swensen and the orchestra followed a regular concert schedule in Scotland and toured extensively in the UK,

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, US, and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The te ...

. They also performed at the Mostly Mozart Festival in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

and Ravinia Festivals, the

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Ha ...

, the

Barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe In the Middle ...

, and the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls ...

, and recorded for

Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became ...

. From 2006 - 2011, he was music director with Malmő Opera and is guest conductor for a number of UK, European and American orchestras.

Teaching

Joseph Swensen joined IU in 2013. He is appointed Starling Professor of Music (violin) at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

, Jacobs School of Music in 2014. 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. At the Habitat4Music Centre in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

Swensen held "Total Immersion" courses in important composers for professional musicians and conductors.

Selected Recordings

* Dvořák, Antonín, Joseph Swensen, Antonín Dvořák, Antonín Dvořák, and Antonín Dvořák. Violin Concerto in a Minor, Op. 53: Czech Suite, Op. 39 ; Nocturne for Strings in B Major, Op. 40 ; Waltz No. 1. Glasgow, Scotland: Linn Records, 2005. Sound recording. * Prokofiev, Sergey, Joseph Swensen, Sergey Prokofiev, Sergey Prokofiev, and Sergey Prokofiev. Symphony No. 1 in D Major: "classical" ; Violin Concerto No. 2 in G Minor ; Five Melodies for Solo Violin & Strings. Glasgow: Linn Records, 2005. Sound recording. * Sibelius, Jean, Jean Sibelius, Carl Nielsen, Joseph Swensen, and Janos Fürst. Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 39. London: BBC Music, 2006. Sound recording. * Sibelius, Jean, Joseph Swensen, Jean Sibelius, Jean Sibelius, Jean Sibelius, Jean Sibelius, and Jean Sibelius. Pelleas and Melisande: Kuolema; Belshazzar's Feast; the Tempest: Suite No. 2; Andante Festivo. Glasgow, Scotland: Linn Records, 2003. Sound recording. * Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, Joseph Swensen, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Hebrides Overture: Violin Concerto in E Minor ; Symphony No. 3 in a Minor "scottish". Waterfoot, UK: Linn Records, 2004. Sound recording. * Schubert, Franz, Joseph Swensen, and Jeffrey Kahane. Schubert. New York: RCA Victor Red Seal, 1988. Sound recording. * MacMillan, James. Tryst. Djursholm: BIS, 1999. Sound recording. * Bach, Johann S, Joseph Swensen, John Gibbons, Elizabeth Anderson, Johann S. Bach, Johann S. Bach, Johann S. Bach, and Johann S. Bach. Works for Violin and Harpsichord: Volume 1. S.l.: RCA Victor Red Seal, 1990. Sound recording. * Swensen, Joseph, Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Robert Schumann. Johannes Brahms Sinfonia in B. , 2012. Sound recording. * MacMillan, James, Joseph Swensen, James MacMillan, James MacMillan, James MacMillan, and James MacMillan. Tryst: Adam's Rib ; They Saw the Stone Had Been Rolled Away ; Í : (a Meditation on Iona). Djursholm, Sweden: BIS, 1999. Sound recording. * Violin Concertos of Mendelssohn & Bruch. McDuffie, Robert, Joseph Swensen, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and Max Bruch. Cleveland, OH: Telarc, 1999. Sound recording. * Kahane, Jeffrey, Joshua Bell, Scott Nickrenz, Carter Brey, Erika Nickrenz, Joseph Swensen, Marvis Martin, Hall Johnson, Gian C. Menotti, Johannes Brahms, Bedřich Smetana, and Ned Rorem. Live from the Spoleto Festival, 1987. Oakhurst, N.J: Musical Heritage Society, 2003. Sound recording. * Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, Joseph Swensen, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Violin Concerto. S.l.: Linn, 2002. Sound recording. * BBC Music, Volume 14, Number 11: Sibelius: Symphony no. 1 / Nielsen: Symphony no. 1 (as Conductor), 2006-2007

Selected Compositions

* Symphony for Horn and Orchestra, The Fire and the Rose (2008) * Sinfonia in B (original 1854 version of Trio, op.8 by Johannes Brahms) orchestrated by Joseph Swensen (2007) * Shizue for solo shakuhachi and orchestra (2001) * Latif for solo cello with chamber ensemble(1999) * Mantram for string orchestra and percussion (1998) * Seven Last Words for chamber ensemble (1996)

References

External links

Joseph Swensen website

Artist Management Victoria Rowsell

Artist Management C M Artists
* : Joseph Swensen at TEDxNYIT (November 11, 2014), via the TEDx official YouTube channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Swensen, Joseph 1960 births Living people