Since her notable debut with the New York String Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall in 2000, Los Angeles, virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn has been earning a celebrated reputation as one of America’s most important rising soloists.

Born in the bucolic sanctuary of Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1973, Pitcairn’s path in music seemed to be etched in stone since the age of three when she set her sights on mastering the violin.  Her partnership with one of the world’s most legendary instruments, the 1720 “Red” Mendelssohn Stradivarius, continues to foster a stellar career.  The rare violin is said to be the inspiration for the motion picture The Red Violin (winner of the 1999 Academy Award for Best Original Score).

Pitcairn performed her first concerto with an orchestra at age 14. In 1995 she won a major competition to solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has since played the masterpieces of the violin repertoire for many audiences around the world. Pitcairn champions John Corigliano’s Chaconne from The Red Violin, performing it frequently since 2000, when she gave the Southern California premiere with the acclaimed California Philharmonic conducted by Victor Vener. Pivotal solo performances include the Brahms Double Concerto with her illustrious colleagues Yehuda Gilad and Ronald Leonard, and the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante with premier violist, Donald McInnes.    Pitcairn’s repertoire includes the concerto by Khachaturian, which she performed with the USC Thornton Symphony to stunning notices. Other highlights include distinguished press for her solo in The Lark Ascending at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia.

At age 17, Pitcairn moved to Los Angeles to study at the University of Southern California with the preeminent Robert Lipsett, and went on to become the teaching assistant to Lipsett’s world-class studio. She holds positions on the faculty of the USC Thornton School of Music, the Colburn School of Performing Arts and the Encore School for Strings.

The violinist’s rigorous early training included study with Julian Meyer and Sylvia Ahramjian at Temple University’s Center for Gifted Young Musicians. Pitcairn spent two summers at the prestigious Marlboro Music Festival where she played chamber music with members of the Guarneri and Juilliard String Quartets. She performed three major concertos with the National Repertory Orchestra and performed the Brahms Concerto with the late legend, Mehli Mehta.

Elizabeth Pitcairn’s discography includes concertos by Mozart and Tchaikovsky with the Slovenia Radio Television Orchestra, and Fantasies by Bruch and Sarasate with the Sofia Philharmonic. She will premiere and record a concerto commissioned for her from Sweden’s leading composer, Tommie Haglund, with the Helsingborg Symphony in September 2005.