1- David Garrett: Crossover, Classical and more...

DAVID GARRETT is a 'total virtuoso', world-class classical & crossover violinist and recording artist. (http://www.david-garrett.com/) He is a creative explorer of the multiple universes of music and is famous for his sheer dedication to music and his hard work. The child of an American mother ( prima ballerina Dove Garrett) and a German father (the jurist Georg Bongartz), David Garrett, born David Bongartz in Aachen, Germany, reached and surpassed many an important milestone before his matriculation at Juilliard in New York. (He adopted his mother's maiden name as a pseudonym, as "it was more pronounceable"). David's interest in violin began at the age of four, when his older brother received a violin from his father. The young Garrett took an interest and soon learned to play. A year later, David had already won a competition, and by seven he was playing in public as often as possible. By the age of seven, he studied violin at the Lübeck Conservatoire, and by the age of 12, Garrett began working with the distinguished Polish violinist Ida Haendel, often traveling to London and other European cities to meet her. When he was still a kid, he had gone on to perform with an orchestra (playing Mozart) and at the age of ten made his concert debut. As his teenage years dawned, David had already released two albums and appeared on television. This kind of talent was quickly picked up by Deutsche Grammophone, which offered and signed a contract with the violinist when he was only 13 years old. He graduated from the prestigious Julliard School in New York in 2004, after having been a student with Itzhak Perlman . At the Julliard he studied musicology and composition. In 2003 he won the Composition Competition of Julliard School with a fugue composed in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach. David Garrett has performed with many of the world's orchestras. Garrett's 2008 album "Encore" pursues an aim of arousing young people's interest in classical music. The release contains arrangements and compositions of his own of pieces and melodies that have accompanied him in his life so far. Together with his band, consisting of keyboard, guitar and drums, he gives concerts that include classical sonatas (accompanied by a concert grand piano), arrangements, and compositions, as well as rock songs and movie themes. In Autumn 2007, Garrett was chosen by the Montegrappa firm (whose articles are distributed by Montblanc throughout the world) as an ambassador for the launch of the new pens from the Tributo ad Antonio Stradivari collection. The event took place in several different venues, including Rome, New York, Hong Kong, Berlin, and London. On this occasion, Garrett has been offered a Stradivarius from the Gli Archi di Palazzo Comunale collection. He also appeared at the Royal Variety Performance on 5 December 2011, playing his cover of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. He joined the 9th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. His most recent album, "Legacy", was released 4 November 2011 On May 19, 2012 he appeared in the UEFA Champions League Final performing with German singer Jonas Kaufmann. RECORDINGS : Studio Albums Free (2007), Virtuoso (2007), Encore (2008), Classic Romance (2009), Rock Symphonies (2010), Legacy (2011), Music (2012), 14 (2013). Other albums Nokia Night of the Proms (2004), The New Classical Generation 2008 (2008) Featured 2008: Tenor at the Movies -- "Parla Più Piano" (theme from The Godfather) and "Se" (theme from Cinema Paradiso) with Jonathan Ansell 2008: A New World -- "Cinema Paradiso" with Will Martin DVD David Garrett: Live - In Concert & In Private (2009), David Garrett: Rock Symphonies -- Open Air Live (2011), David Garrett: Legacy Live in Baden Baden (2011), David Garrett: Music -- Live in Concert (2012). Recognition and awards Radio Regenbogen Award - March 2008, Echo Classics, Classic without borders - October 2008, GQ Award Man of the Year category music - November 2008, Goldene Feder - May 2009, Goldener Geigenbogen - May 2009, Golden Camera, Best Music International - January 2010, World's Fastest Violinist, Guinness World Record. I took this information from davidgarrettmusic & David Garrett Channels, from David Garrett's site and from Wikipedia Creative Commons.