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For concert or master class bookings:
ann@annfontanella.com

"Having the same natural ability as Heifetz... Very few people in the world play the violin as well as she."
-- Erick Friedman, Yale School of Music, Protégé of Jascha Heifetz

"(It is) extraordinary that you play so fantastically well...to have the ability to play on the violin and to be a composer as well is quite an amazing thing."
--Christopher O'Riley, NPR host of From the Top

"She is probably the only working violinist who could be mistaken for Jascha Heifetz."
--Dr. John Birchall, London Independent

Ann Fontanella is the last protégé of the "Old Russian School" style of violin play that was popularized by Jascha Heifetz, widely-viewed as the greatest violinist of the 20th century. The Old Russian style emphasizes a warm and rich romantic tone with exacting precision that allows you to hear each note clearly even when playing at tremendous speed.

At age seven, Ann was selected to begin studying under Sherry Kloss, Heifetz's teaching assistant. She debuted with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 10. For the next five years, Ann was the protégé and final student of Erick Friedman, Heifetz's own protégé. Erick Friedman was the only violinist Heifetz ever recorded with on equal footing.

At the age of 14, Ann was one of the youngest artists ever accepted to Yale University School of Music and she appeared on NPR's From the Top. Ann released her debut album Bach, Schubert, Bruch in 2005.

In addition to being a violinist, Ann is also a commissioned composer. In 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2005 she was an award recipient in the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers Competition. The song "Rondo" (in the playlist above) was one of the award-winning compositions.

Ann plays on a 320-year-old Grancino violin with Heifetz's own custom-engineered mute that he used for four decades. Ann is supported by Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour (PennPAT), which pays for half of costs in: DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VA and WV.

21-year old Ann is currently writing and developing a new album and studies musicology at the University of Pennsylvania. She is engaged and lives in Philadelphia, PA.

For bookings and business inquiries:
ann@annfontanella.com
Interview in the University of Pennsylvania Gazette: http://www.upenn.edu/gazett...
Wikipedia Jascha Heifetz:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
Agencies:
http://www.hunsteinartists....
http://pennpat.org/RosterAr...
Composition awards:
http://ascap.com/eventsawar...
Appearance on From The Top:
http://fromthetop.org/Progr...
Spokeswoman for Pirastro strings:
http://pirastro.com/_statem...