Giora Schmidt

Still in his early 20's, violinist Giora Schmidt has earned a reputation as a virtuoso of the "old school", whose commanding presence is distinguished by his lush tone and effortless technique.

In the 2007/08 season, Mr. Schmidt performs with the Arkansas and Vancouver Symphony orchestras, the Naples Philharmonic, the Israel Chamber Orchestra and with regional orchestras in Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Montana and Pennsylvania. Other highlights of the season include appearances at the Bard and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festivals, a return to the Louvre Museum in Paris for a series of all-Beethoven recitals, and the complete Brahms sonatas in Texas and Alaska. His debut recital disc Vocalise is scheduled for a September 2007 release on Allegro/Endeavour Classics.

The 2006/07 season included performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra led by Itzhak Perlman, the Fort Worth Symphony and Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the Long Island Philharmonic and David Wiley, and the Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile in Santiago. In the summer of 2006, Mr. Schmidt made his debut appearance at the Bard Music Festival, was a guest at the Ruidoso (New Mexico) Music Festival, and returned to the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival for concerts with Yefim Bronfman, Pinchas Zukerman, Anne Sofie von Otter, et al. A passionate chamber musician, Mr. Schmidt regularly tours with the Perlman/Schmidt/Bailey trio (partners pianist Navah Perlman and cellist Zuill Bailey.)

Mr. Schmidt has appeared with the Detroit, New Jersey, San Diego, Phoenix, Arkansas, Louisville, Columbus, and El Paso Symphony orchestras, and in February 2003 made his Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Youth Symphony. Of that concert, Allan Kozinn wrote for The New York Times: "In the Barber Violin Concerto...the orchestra matched and amplified the lush, shapely sound that Giora Schmidt brought to the solo line." That summer also marked Mr. Schmidt's debut with the Chicago Symphony, in the Tchaikovsky Concerto at Ravinia. He has appeared with Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman and the Israel Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall and was a soloist with Mr. Perlman and Mr. Zukerman at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, Canada. In concerts abroad, Mr. Schmidt has performed with the Israel Philharmonic in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, the Orquesta Filarmonica de la UNAM in Mexico City and Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Cuba in Havana and at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.

A frequent recitalist, Mr. Schmidt made his New York recital debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his European debut at the Louvre Museum in Paris, and his Far East recital debut at Tokyo's Musashino Cultural Hall. He has also appeared in recital and chamber music at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Ravinia Rising Stars series, San Francisco Performances, UC Santa Barbara, Notre Dame, Pepperdine and Duke Universities.

Giora Schmidt received the Samuel Sanders Artist Award, presented to him by Itzhak Perlman at the 2005 Classical Recording Foundation Awards Ceremony at Carnegie Hall. He is the recipient of a 2003 Avery Fisher Career Grant and of numerous other prizes and awards, including First Prize in the Philadelphia Orchestra's Student Competition and the Concerto Competition at the Music Academy of the West. Born into a family of professional musicians, Giora Schmidt grew up in Philadelphia, also spending time in Israel.

A graduate of the Juilliard School, Giora Schmidt was a student of the late Dorothy DeLay and Itzhak Perlman. When not touring, Mr. Schmidt is on the faculties of the Juilliard School and the Perlman Music Program.