Joshua Bell

Raised on a farm in Bloomington, Indiana, Joshua Bell was given his first violin when he was four years old after his parents noticed him picking out melodies on a pair of rubber bands he had stretched between the knobs of his dresser. He first came to national attention at the age of 14 in a highly acclaimed orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

A rare classical superstar in the record industry, Joshua Bell has released over 30 CDs, among them the concertos of Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Beethoven. He has also won Grammy Awards for his recordings of modern works, and performed with pop artists such as Josh Groban, James Taylor and Sting. His bestselling 2003 collection, Romance of the Violin, was named Classical Album of the Year by Billboard magazine, which also named Bell the Classical Artist of the Year. He was also featured on the Oscar-winning soundtrack of the motion picture The Red Violin.

This podcast was recorded during Joshua Bell's performance at the 2009 International Achievement Summit, which was hosted by Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu, in Cape Town, South Africa at the historic St. George's Cathedral.