"A master musician at the height of her powers," violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg is celebrated worldwide as one of the most original and fearless artists on the concert stage today. Renowned for her electrifying performances, passionate interpretations and musical depth, she is sought after by todayıs greatest conductors and orchestras, as well as by fellow artists, for collaborations in classical and other genres. Acclaimed by the press in the performance and recording arenas, she is an artist whose talent ³will make you hang breathlessly on every note.²

Following the EMI Classics re-issue of her recording of Dmitri Shostakovichıs Violin Concerto No. 1 and Samuel Barberıs Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14 with the London Symphony Orchestra, Salerno-Sonnenberg was heard playing both works in concert throughout the 2005 season, beginning with her summer performances at some of the most prestigious US music festivals, including Ravinia, Aspen and the Eastern Music Festival. Additional orchestral engagements in 2005 included the Vancouver Symphony in Canada, and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where she joined violinist Mark OıConnor to perform his Double Violin Concerto. Salerno-Sonnenberg has been heard in orchestral engagements throughout North America, including appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She continues her highly successful collaboration with duo guitarists The Assads, and performed Sergio Assadıs Concerto Originis, written for her and the two brothers, with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in February 2005. With pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, she tours in recital in 2006, with appearances at Ithaca College, Lincoln Centerıs Alice Tully Hall, Philadelphiaıs Kimmel Center, Finney Chapel in Oberlin, at Jesse Auditorium in Missouri, Hill Auditorium in Michigan and Lund Auditorium in Illinois.

Considered a groundbreaker in the recording field, Salerno-Sonnenberg remains on the cutting edge with the creation of her own record label, NSS MUSIC (nssmusic.com). The label launched in summer 2005 with an August 1 release of two live recordings: a recital CD at New Yorkıs Merkin Hall entitled ³LIVE² with pianist Anne-Marie McDermott performing Schubertıs Rondo brillant, Poulencıs Sonata for Violin & Piano and Beethovenıs Sonata No. 7 in c, Op. 30/2; and the other a concerto album featuring Tchaikovskyıs Concerto for Violin in D, Op. 35 and Clarice Assadıs Violin Concerto. With over 20 recordings to her credit, Nadja has also recorded for the Nonesuch and Angel/EMI Classics labels. She has received critical acclaim for several ³crossover² discs as well: a self-titled recording of gypsy music from Eastern Europe with the Assads (Nonesuch 2000); ³Humoresque² (Nonesuch 1998), a CD of music from the 1947 film Humoresque that combines classical works and pop standards, which the New York Times has called ³a valuable historical document²; and ³It Ainıt Necessarily So² (Angel/EMI 1995) which includes works by Gershwin, Kreisler, and Scott Joplin, among others. An admirer of all musical genres, she has made guest appearances on recordings by Mandy Patinkin, Joe Jackson and Keith Jarrett, and has also collaborated with such artists as Judy Blazer, Roger Kellaway, Bob James, Regina Carter, Eileen Ivers and Janis Siegel. Additonal recent releases include Mark OıConnorıs Double Violin Concerto with the violinist/composer on the OMAC label, and Concerto Originis by Sergio Assad on the GHA label.

Salerno-Sonnenberg has been featured on a variety of television programs, not only as a guest on talk shows, but as a host and featured actress/musician. She has appeared in a cameo on ABCıs prime time comedy Dharma & Greg (2001); in a special segment on Sesame Street; and as the subject of a 2000 Academy Award nominated documentary film on her life, entitled ³Speaking In Strings² (which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival). She has hosted PBSı Backstage/Live from Lincoln Center and has been featured in a commercial for Signet Bank. Her guest appearances are numerous, and include 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes II, and Sunday Morning; CNNıs Newsstand; NBC's National News and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (several times); A & E's Artist of the Week with Elliot Forrest; Bravo's Arts & Minds and The Art of Influence; The Charlie Rose Show, and City Arts, as well as the PBS/BBC series The Mind. In 1989, Crown Books published Nadja: On My Way, an autobiography written for children in which she shares her experiences as a young musician building a career. In 1999, Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg was featured in a book on celebrities entitled The Virtuoso.

Salerno-Sonnenbergıs professional career began in 1981 when she won the Walter W. Naumburg International Violin Competition. In 1983 she was recognized with an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and in 1988 was Ovations Debut Recording Artist of the Year. In 1999 she was honored with the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize, awarded to instrumentalists who have demonstrated ³outstanding achievement and excellence in music.² In May of that same year, Salerno-Sonnenberg was awarded an honorary Masters of Musical Arts from the New Mexico State University.

An American citizen, Salerno-Sonnenberg was born in Rome and emigrated to the United States at the age of eight to study at The Curtis Institute of Music. She later studied with Dorothy DeLay at The Juilliard School.

Websites:

nadjasalernosonnenberg.com

A complete season performance schedule for Ms. Salerno-Sonnenberg can be obtained from this general website. nssmusic.com