Leila currently lives in New York City with her 7 year old son Lukas.
Ms. Josefowicz came to national attention in 1994 when she made her Carnegie Hall debut with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and has since appeared with many of the world's most prestigious orchestras and eminent conductors. A regular, close collaborator with leading composers of the day such as John Adams and Oliver Knussen, she is a strong advocate of new music - a characteristic which is reflected in her diverse programs and her enthusiasm for premiering new works.
Recent engagements in North America include re-engagements with the Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Toronto, St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Vancouver symphonies; appearances with the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis symphonies and the Minnesota Orchestra; and recitals in San Francisco, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall.
During her 2006/07 season, Ms. Josefowicz plays the Adams Violin Concerto in Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra; makes her debut with the New York Philharmonic in Central Park and at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival; appears with the Toronto Symphony in Toronto and on tour in Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec; premieres a new concerto by composer Mark Grey; and appears with the Pittsburgh, National, Detroit, Cincinnati, New World, Milwaukee and Baltimore symphonies among others.
Equally active in Europe, recent and upcoming engagements there include performances with the Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras, the London and Munich Philharmonics, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, tours with the Bergen Philharmonic in Germany and with the London Symphony and a third appearance at the London Proms.
No stranger to television, Leila Josefowicz has appeared on numerous national broadcasts such as The Tonight Show, Evening at Pops and PBS' Live from Lincoln Center. Her most recent television appearance was Eugenia Zukerman's profile of her on CBS Sunday Morning. In January 2002, her performance of John Adams' Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony was televised and broadcast by the BBC throughout Europe.
Ms. Josefowicz made her recording debut with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 1994 for Philips Classics. Subsequent releases on that label include Solo, a disc of unaccompanied violin works by Bartók, Kreisler, Ysaÿe, Ernst and Paganini; Bohemian Rhapsodies, a collection of virtuosic violin works with orchestra; For the End of Time and Americana with pianist John Novacek; and the Mendelssohn, Glazunov and Prokofiev concertos with the Montreal Symphony, Charles Dutoit conducting. Additional releases include a live recording of her performance of the Adams Violin Concerto with John Adams conducting on the BBC label and Adams' Road Movies, which received a 2004 Grammy nomination, for Nonesuch. Her most recent CD releases are a recital disc featuring the works of Messiaen, Beethoven, Salonen, Ravel and Mark Grey and the Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 (with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo) and Violin Sonata for Warner Classics.
A recipient of the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1994 and of a 2007 United States Artists Cummings Fellowship, Leila Josefowicz is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied with Jaime Laredo and Jascha Brodsky. In addition to her solo work, she studied chamber music at Curtis with Felix Galimir and participated at several Marlboro Music Festivals. Ms. Josefowicz currently performs on a Del Gesu made in 1724.
Leila currently lives in New York City with her 7 year old son Lukas.
Leila met her recital partner, pianist John Novacek, when she was just 8 years old and has collaborated with him for each recital ever since.
In addition to her regular violin, a 1724 Guraneri del Gesu, Leila has learned to play a Violectra made by David Bruce Johnson. This 6 string electric violin tunes as a normal violin with added C and F strings, which helps it produce a deep tone similar to a cello's range. Leila learned to play the Violectra specifically for "Dharma at Big Sur" by John Adams.
Email Leila a question or comment and each month she will answer 5 lucky fans personally.