Page 315 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

Joshua Bell directs the Academy of St. Martin of the Fields orchestra while
performing with the chamber orchestra, which will be performing March 26,
2024, at the Indiana University Auditorium.
JAY PATEL/COURTESY PHOTO

Joshua Bell's beginnings

"I grew up listening to the Academy of St Martin in the Fields countless
times on my local classical radio station, WFIU," Bell said in an email. "As
fate would have it, I would be given the opportunity to make my first-ever
commercial recording with this revered orchestra under the direction of Sir
Neville Marriner in 1986."

In 1958 Sir Neville Marriner (1924-2016) founded the Academy of St
Martin in the Fields.

When Bell received the invitation to do that first recording, it happened to
be the week of his 19th birthday, and he was a student of Josef Gingold,
IU's legendary pedagogue.

"I couldn't have imagined then that 25 years later, in 2011, I would be
appointed successor to Sir Neville as music director, one of the greatest
honors of my musical life," Bell said.

"It is with immense pride and joy that I return to Bloomington and IU, the
place that fostered my musical education, to perform with the ASMF for the
very first time, in front of so many people I grew up with, including my