String into Spring! Janice Martin, violin, voice, piano

Saturday, March 26, 2016 at 7:30 pm

There is no performer quite like Janice Martin. She achieves virtuosity as a violinist, pianist, soprano and perhaps most impressively, boasts the title as the world’s only aerial violinist. Janice’s multi-dimensional artistry has disarmed classical, popular and jazz audiences alike while creating ardent fans who span a broad demographic. Renowned composers such as the LA Philharmonic composer-in-residence Steven Stuckey, Bob Goldstone and Charlie Barnett have written for Ms. Martin (who wrote “Concerto in Fourths” for her) prompting collaborations with such with Jazz artists such as Larry Willis and David Bixler. In 2009 she wowed millions of viewers on the popular NBC Series America’s Got Talent with her aerial violin and vocal performance, and her playing has been featured on television projects for the Discovery and History Channels as well on the big screen in the Miramax film “Paperclips.” She is a frequent guest performer with Cirque de la Symphonie, an “orchestrated aerial dance spectacular,” and is a headline act in Branson, MO.

Ms. Martin’s musical credentials include top prizes at both the Washington International Competition, the Young Artist International Competition, and the Career Award Grant by National Endowment for the Arts. For her accomplishments, The Stradivari Society awarded her the honorary use of the 1708 Burstein/Bagshawe Stradivarius Violin.

Janice has enjoyed considerable success both in the US and overseas. Following her Carnegie Hall debut, she released her first CD to critical acclaim as “a brilliant artist.” She has soloed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Houston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Edmonton Symphony, Portland Symphony, European Union Chamber Orchestra and the New York Symphonic Ensemble, to name a few, and has performed solos in some of the most celebrated concert halls in the world such as New York’s Avery Fisher Hall, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and Prague’s Rudolfinum.

Janice co-created and performs a number of diverse touring shows (“Dear Mr. Gershwin”, “Paganinimania”, “World on a String”, “Fiery Fiddles”, “Aerial Violin Classics”, “An Unlikely Affair”) and released her 2nd CD “Fascinating Gershwin” in 2011.

A native of Racine, Wisconsin, Janice is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Indiana University Schools of Music. She is also a United States Army Veteran, for which she contributed a three-year enlistment as the premiere violin soloist for presidential performances in the White House, the Capitol, the State Department.

As part of the Ohio Valley Symphony’s mission to bring live, professional, orchestral music to the region and to instill a love of music — especially in children, the public is encouraged to attend OVS rehearsals for free at 7–10 p.m. Friday, Mar. 25, and 1–4 p.m. Mar. 26 at the Ariel. Open rehearsals are a great way to grow familiar with symphonic music, and they offer a unique behind-the-scenes glimpse at the preparation of an orchestral performance.

Single tickets to the Ohio Valley Symphony’s STRING INTO SPRING cost $24, $22 (senior) and $12 (student). Tickets and more information are available at the Ariel-Ann Carson Dater Performing Arts Centre box office, 428 Second Ave., Gallipolis; by phone, (740) 446-2787 (ARTS); and through the Ariel website www.arieltheatre.org.