Elizabeth Pitcairn
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Pitcairn is an American
classical
violin
ist. She has concertized widely as a soloist and is noted for performing on the Antonio Stradivari
violin that is said to have inspired the film The Red Violin
.
. Her mother, cello player Mary Eleanor (Brace), received a master's degree from Juilliard. Her father Laren trained to be an opera singer. Her younger brother David played cello, though makes his living as an aerospace engineer. Her great-grandfather was John Pitcairn
(19 Jan 1841–22 July 1916), founder of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Her grandfather was the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
of Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
.
Pitcairn began the violin at age three and performed her first concerto with orchestra at 14. She began college at the age of 17, and went to study violin in Los Angeles
with Robert Lipsett
at the USC Thornton School of Music
, for which she is now a former adjunct professor, after becoming its youngest faculty member ever. She is currently a member of the distinguished faculty at the Colburn School of Performing Arts
in Los Angeles.
While studying at USC, Pitcairn was a member of Gamma Phi Beta
sorority.
, which won the Academy Award for best musical score in 1999. Appropriately, she is one of few soloists who perform the Red Violin Chaconne, for which composer John Corigliano won his Oscar.
Pitcairn champions new music, and commissioned a violin concerto from one of Sweden's leading composers, Tommie Haglund, titled "Hymns to Night." She premiered this work with the Swedish Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in 2005 to public and critical acclaim, and the concert was broadcast multiple times throughout Sweden.
She recently performed for the international press at Christie's
of New York, which invited her to demonstrate another Stradivarius, and gave interviews to CNN, CNBC, Fox News, Reuters, WNYC-FM, Scotland's Radio Sound, The Associated Press and The New York Times. Classic FM, Britain's largest classical radio station, requested an interview in December 2007.
Pitcairn is currently co-concertmistress for the New West Symphony
and is also in demand as a concert solo artist. She has performed concertos with the New York String Orchestra at Lincoln Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra
at the Academy of Music
.
Most recently Pitcairn demonstrated the violin to High School students in rural upstate New York as part of an effort to grow interest in the musical arts in disadvantaged areas.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. She has concertized widely as a soloist and is noted for performing on the Antonio Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari
Antonio Stradivari was an Italian luthier and a crafter of string instruments such as violins, cellos, guitars, violas, and harps. Stradivari is generally considered the most significant artisan in this field. The Latinized form of his surname, Stradivarius, as well as the colloquial, "Strad", is...
violin that is said to have inspired the film The Red Violin
The Red Violin
The Red Violin is a 1998 Canadian drama film directed by François Girard. It spans three centuries and five countries as it tells the story of a mysterious violin and its many owners...
.
Childhood
Pitcairn was born into a musical family in Bucks County, PennsylvaniaBucks County, Pennsylvania
- Industry and commerce :The boroughs of Bristol and Morrisville were prominent industrial centers along the Northeast Corridor during World War II. Suburban development accelerated in Lower Bucks in the 1950s with the opening of Levittown, Pennsylvania, the second such "Levittown" designed by...
. Her mother, cello player Mary Eleanor (Brace), received a master's degree from Juilliard. Her father Laren trained to be an opera singer. Her younger brother David played cello, though makes his living as an aerospace engineer. Her great-grandfather was John Pitcairn
John Pitcairn, Jr.
John Pitcairn, Jr. was a Scottish-born American industrialist. With just an elementary school education, Pitcairn rose through the ranks of the Pennsylvania railroad industry, and played a significant role in the creation of the modern oil and natural gas industries...
(19 Jan 1841–22 July 1916), founder of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company. Her grandfather was the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
Theodore Pitcairn
Theodore Pitcairn , son of PPG Industries founder John Pitcairn, was an arts collector and philanthropist, and a minister in the General Church of the New Jerusalem....
of Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Pitcairn began the violin at age three and performed her first concerto with orchestra at 14. She began college at the age of 17, and went to study violin in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with Robert Lipsett
Robert Lipsett
Robert C. Lipsett, birth name "Mister Lipsett" is a renowned violin teacher in Los Angeles, California. He holds the Jascha Heifetz Distinguished Violin Chair at the Colburn School of Performing Arts. He also serves on the faculty at the Aspen School of Music, the Colburn Conservatory and the...
at the USC Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton School of Music
The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...
, for which she is now a former adjunct professor, after becoming its youngest faculty member ever. She is currently a member of the distinguished faculty at the Colburn School of Performing Arts
Colburn School
The Colburn School is a music, dance, and drama school located in downtown Los Angeles adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art and across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall...
in Los Angeles.
While studying at USC, Pitcairn was a member of Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta
Gamma Phi Beta is an international sorority that was founded on November 11, 1874, at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. The term "sorority," meaning sisterhood, was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University.The four founders are Helen M. Dodge,...
sorority.
Career
Pitcairn performs in partnership with the Red Mendelssohn Violin (Stradivarius 1721). It was purchased as a gift from her grandfather in 1990 (for a reported $1.7 million) at auction at Christie's London. It is this auction which is said to have inspired the movie The Red ViolinThe Red Violin
The Red Violin is a 1998 Canadian drama film directed by François Girard. It spans three centuries and five countries as it tells the story of a mysterious violin and its many owners...
, which won the Academy Award for best musical score in 1999. Appropriately, she is one of few soloists who perform the Red Violin Chaconne, for which composer John Corigliano won his Oscar.
Pitcairn champions new music, and commissioned a violin concerto from one of Sweden's leading composers, Tommie Haglund, titled "Hymns to Night." She premiered this work with the Swedish Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in 2005 to public and critical acclaim, and the concert was broadcast multiple times throughout Sweden.
She recently performed for the international press at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
of New York, which invited her to demonstrate another Stradivarius, and gave interviews to CNN, CNBC, Fox News, Reuters, WNYC-FM, Scotland's Radio Sound, The Associated Press and The New York Times. Classic FM, Britain's largest classical radio station, requested an interview in December 2007.
Pitcairn is currently co-concertmistress for the New West Symphony
New West Symphony
The New West Symphony is one of several regional professional symphony orchestras in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1995 to succeed two orchestras that ceased operations...
and is also in demand as a concert solo artist. She has performed concertos with the New York String Orchestra at Lincoln Center and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
at the Academy of Music
Academy of Music (Philadelphia)
The Academy of Music, also known as American Academy of Music, is a concert hall and opera house located at Broad and Locust Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1857 and is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose...
.
Most recently Pitcairn demonstrated the violin to High School students in rural upstate New York as part of an effort to grow interest in the musical arts in disadvantaged areas.