In 2007, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell took his Stradivarius into the D.C. subway and played as an anonymous “busker” for the bustling commuters. Of the thousands who passed, only a few stopped to listen (full story here). Bell’s experience, which was imaginatively captured in the multi-award-winning children’s book The Man with the Violin, written by Kathy Stinson, has now been turned into a concert work by composer Anne Dudley for orchestra, narrator, screened animation and solo violin.
The piece was co-commissioned by Canada’s National Arts Centre and the Kennedy Centre and produced in collaboration with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Gourmet Symphony and Washington Performing Arts. It will premiere on 12 February in the very city the events originally happened (Washington DC) with Joshua Bell as soloist.
Tickets available here.