MacArthur Fellow is a Carolina Performing Arts mainstay
Acclaimed violinist Johnny Gandelsman specially curated a five-part series for Chapel Hill audiences.
Johnny Gandelsman didn鈥檛 answer the calls from the unlisted number the first few times. When he eventually picked up, the news stunned him.
The acclaimed violinist found out he was one of 22 recipients of a 2024 , colloquially known as a 鈥淕enius Grant.鈥�
鈥淢y reaction was total shock,鈥� Gandelsman said. 鈥淚 still don鈥檛 really understand or believe that it happened, but it鈥檚 a great honor to be part of this class.鈥�
Gandelsman鈥檚 genius is apparent to anyone who鈥檚 ever heard him play the violin. His mastery of the instrument is especially clear in Chapel Hill, where Gandelsman has been a fixture over the last two decades.
In fact, in the 20-year history of , no musician has appeared on stage more often. He has performed as a solo artist, in the Silkroad Ensemble and with his , among other collaborative projects.
The violinist created a special series for CPA’s 2024-25 season while serving as its first-ever curator-in-residence. (Johnny Andrews)
Gandelsman has been so influential that Carolina Performing Arts enlisted him as its first-ever curator-in-residence. In the role, he cultivated a special series for CPA鈥檚 2024-25 season.
鈥淛ohnny is one of the greatest violinists of our time, and he鈥檚 also a producer, has his own record label and is a community builder,鈥� said Alison Friedman, CPA executive and artistic director. 鈥淎 project he developed during the pandemic called 鈥楾his is America鈥� is an anthology comprising a wide-ranging group of musicians and composers who explore through music their experience during the lockdown, both individually and collectively. Johnny has curated a selection from that anthology that we are presenting across five performances this season, each featuring a different group of musicians from the album.鈥�
Gandelsman performed the first of his five-part 鈥淭his is America鈥� concert series to a captivated audience at the CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio on Dec. 13. The series will resume March 3-4 and April 23-24 with .
Each performance uses Gandelsman鈥檚 鈥淭his is America鈥� anthology, which grew to encompass 28 compositions, as a starting point. Six of the composers commissioned for the anthology will also perform their works in Chapel Hill.
鈥淭hese performances are opportunities for CPA audiences to discover or reconnect with artists who wrote for the anthology,鈥� said Gandelsman.
The three-disc collection drew critical praise,鈥�痶hat Gandelsman is 鈥渃rystallizing a new vision for American classical music.鈥�
Gandelsman said the project began spontaneously, with the desire to capture multiple creative perspectives during a tumultuous time in America and the world at large. Years after the pandemic, the songs have taken on new life for Gandelsman.
鈥淲hen I was first getting these works, it was a lot of material to learn at once, and I was maybe seeing the trees and not the forest,鈥� Gandelsman said. 鈥淣ow coming back to them this past year, it鈥檚 interesting how audiences connect with this project. You don’t have to necessarily like every piece, but every piece is such a personal snapshot of time and place that I think people in the audience can connect to the experience.鈥�
Gandelsman, who鈥檚 based in New Paltz, New York, is eager to perform in Chapel Hill. 鈥淚t feels like home,鈥� he said, sporting a Tar Heels T-shirt. The avid hoops fan attended his first-ever Carolina men鈥檚 basketball game before his Dec. 13 performance and is collaborating with music department students and faculty ahead of his April concerts.
鈥淚 spend so much time on the road, and it鈥檚 nice to come to a place where you鈥檙e familiar with the layout and the people,鈥� he said.
For Chapel Hill music lovers, the feeling is mutual.
