Rachel Barton Pine

Rachel Barton Pine is an American violinist known for her exceptional range as she performs and records both the classical music repertoire but also with rock and metal artists. A childhood prodigy who became the first American and youngest winner of the gold medal at the J.S. Bach Competition in 1992, she has performed all over the world and even survived an accident on a train in which she lost one leg and required 40 surgeries over two years.

Born in Chicago, she performed with the Chicago String Ensemble and the Chicago Symphony as a child and studied at the Music Institute of Chicago. She won prizes in many international competitions and made her recording debut in 1994 with 'Homage to Pablo de Sarasate'. Her 2005 release, 'Scottish Fantasies for Violin and Orchestra' went to number 48 on Billboard's Classical Albums Chart followed by 'American Virtuosa: Tribute to Maud Powell' (2007) with pianist Matthew Hagle which reached number 47. 'Beethoven & Clement: Violin Concertos' (2008) followed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at number 17 and 'Capricho Latino' (2011) came in at number 41. Her 2013 release 'Violin Lullabies' with Matthew Hagle peaked at number nine on the chart followed by 'Mozart: Complete Violin Concertos, Sinfonia Concertante' (2015) with violist Matthew Lipman and the Academy of St. Martin in the Field conducted by Neville Marriner. 'Testament: Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin' (2016) got to number eleven and 'Bel Canto Paganini: 24 Caprices and Other Works for Solo Violin' (2017) number 16. She is president of the Rachel Elizabeth Barton Foundation for young artists, a member of the board of trustees of the Music Institute of Chicago, she teaches at Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Camp, coaches in chamber music, gives masterclasses and adjudicates music competitions. Her 2018 release 'Elgar Bruch: Violin Concertos' with the BBC Symphony Orchestra went to number 13 on the Classical Albums Chart with her 2018 schedule going on to include performances at venues in Illinois, Quebec, New York and Virginia.