Noah Bendix-Balgley
Violin, composer
Noah Bendix-Balgley plays one of the rare violins from the Cremonese workshop of Carlo Bergonzi – an instrument that allows him to “share his thoughts and emotions with other musicians and the audience”. The North Carolina-born violinist and first concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker has made it his life’s work to create a personal sound that is not only beautiful, but also expressive and emotional.
Noah Bendix-Balgley, who received his first violin lessons at the age of four and played for Yehudin Menuhin at the age of nine, studied at Indiana University and at the Munich Conservatory under Mauricio Fuks, Christoph Poppen and Ana Chumachenco. He has won prizes at numerous competitions, including the Concours Reine Elisabeth and the Concours International Long-Thibaud-Crespin in Paris. He began his career as an orchestral musician in 2011 as concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. In September 2014, Noah Bendix-Balgley moved to the Berliner Philharmoniker in the same role. In addition to his role as concertmaster, Noah Bendix-Balgley also appears as a soloist with leading orchestras worldwide – including, of course, in Berliner Philharmoniker concerts. As a keen chamber musician, he plays in several ensembles, including a trio with pianist Robert Levin and cellist Peter Wiley, and in the cross-genre septet Philharmonix with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Vienna Philharmonic. Noah Bendix-Balgley has appeared as an avid performer of traditional klezmer music with world-renowned ensembles such as Brave Old World, has taught at workshops throughout Europe and the United States, and premiered his own klezmer violin concerto Fidl-Fantazye in June 2016.
