Andrew Smith, Violin

Biography

Violinist Andrew Smith studied at the Royal Academy of Music, UK with Erich Gruenberg, OBE.
Upon graduating with honors in 1991 he was awarded the Farjeon Prize and granted a position on the Advanced Solo Studies course. At the
age of 23 he was appointed Concertmaster of the Orquestra da Norte, Portugal and made his London debut at the Purcell Room, South Bank
Centre. He moved to the US in 1996 as Assistant to the Emerson String Quartet and continued his studies with Ida Kavafian obtaining
his Doctorate from the Hartt School in 2003.

As a soloist Andrew has performed with orchestras throughout Europe, China and the United States. He has appeared at such venues as the British Embassy in
Paris, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St. James’, Piccadilly, the Edinburgh International Festival, the British Music Information
Centre and Chicago’s Symphony Hall, and his concerts have been broadcast on public television and radio in England, Italy,
Portugal, and America. As a guest artist he has appeared in concert for the American Liszt Society, the US Coast Guard, “World Hunger”
and “Artists Against Aids” and is recipient of the 2004 Artist-in-Residence award for the LaPorte Symphony. His recording of
the Glazunow Concerto appears on the VUCA label and he has recorded solo soundtracks for the Hartford Stage, Yale Repertory Theater, and
British television and radio. His playing has been hailed in the London Press as “masterful”, “strong individual playing”, “virtuoso” and “devilish fiddling”.

Andrew served as Artistic Director of the London based new music group “The Rubicon Ensemble” between 1990 and 1995 and in 2002 won two awards
for research at the Conservatoire Royale de Musique in Brussels. He has given masterclasses at the Hartt School, San Francisco State,
State University New York, Andrew’s University, the Shanghai Conservatory and Jiangsu Performing Arts Association, China and is
Assistant Professor of Music at Valparaiso University. He performs with the Castillon Piano Trio, and is the Founder and Director of
the Stamford International Music Festival, UK, a summer music camp for gifted young performers