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Noah Bendix-Balgley

First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Noah Bendix-Balgley has thrilled and moved audiences around the world with his performances.

Since becoming a laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and gathering acclaim at further international competitions, Bendix-Balgley has appeared as a soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de Belgique, I Pomeriggi Musicali of Milan and the Orchestre Royal Chambre de Wallonie (Belgium), among others. Recent and forthcoming highlights include recitals throughout Europe and the United States, and performances with the Adelaide and Auckland symphony orchestras, the Utah Symphony and Nagoya Philharmonic with Thierry Fischer, the China Philharmonic and Guangzhou Symphony with Long Yu, Brahms Double Concerto with cellist Alisa Weilerstein and Tomas Netopil at the Aspen Music Festival, and the premiere of Noah’s own klezmer concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by Manfred Honeck.

From 2011 to 2015, Bendix-Balgley was concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. His Pittsburgh debut recital in January 2012 was named the “Best Classical Concert of 2012” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Bendix-Balgley’s performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, featuring his own original cadenzas, was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. Bendix-Balgley also performed his own version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” for solo violin in front of 39,000 fans at the 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day at PNC Park.

Bendix-Balgley is a passionate and experienced chamber musician. He has performed on a North American tour with the Miro String Quartet. From 2008 to 2011, he was the first violinist of the Munich-based Athlos String Quartet, which won a special prize at the 2009 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Competition in Berlin, and performed throughout Europe. He has performed with artists including Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Gary Hoffman, Emanuel Ax, Lars Vogt and percussionist Colin Currie. Bendix-Balgley has appeared at numerous festivals in Europe and North America, including the Verbier Festival, the Sarasota Festival, ChamberFest Cleveland, the Nevada Chamber Music Festival and Chamber Music Connects the World in Kronberg, Germany.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Bendix-Balgley began playing violin at age 4. At age 9, he played for Lord Yehudi Menuhin in Switzerland. Bendix-Balgley graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Munich Hochschule. His principal teachers were Mauricio Fuks, Christoph Poppen and Ana Chumachenco.

In his spare time, he enjoys playing klezmer music. He has played with world renowned klezmer groups such as Brave Old World, and has taught klezmer violin at workshops in Europe and in the United States.

Bendix-Balgley performs on a Cremonese violin made in 1732 by Carlo Bergonzi.