Vail Daily highlights Joshua Bell and Larisa Martínez's “The Voice and the Violin” live streamed from the Ford Amphitheater
Violinist Joshua Bell, playing his famous Stradivarius Gibson ex Huberman instrument, has played many shows in Vail, including headline performances at Bravo! Vail Music Festival this weekend.
Vail Daily highlights Joshua Bell and Larisa Martínez's “The Voice and the Violin” live streamed from the Ford Amphitheater
By Casey Russell
Vail Daily
August 13, 2020
Violinist Joshua Bell and soprano singer Larisa Martínez will play their first concert since the COVID-19 pandemic at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14. The husband-wife duo will be joined by pianist Peter Dugan for “The Voice and the Violin.”
Tickets to the live show, presented by the Vilar Performing Arts Center, have sold out, but guests can access a livestream remotely. Tickets to access the stream are $20, and half of the proceeds will support mental health in Colorado.
“#TBT to the last time I performed at the Vilar Performing Arts Center (VPAC) with Alessio Bax. It was only in January, but feels like a lifetime ago. I can’t wait to return this Friday with Larisa Martínez- Soprano and Peter Dugan Piano for our first performance for a live audience in months,” Joshua Bell wrote on his Facebook page.
Bell won a Grammy Award for Nicholas Maw’s Violin Concerto. He has been featured in PBS’s “Great Performances” series for playing selections from “West Side Story” in Central Park, New York City. He’s performed six Live From Lincoln Center specials and has worked with artists as diverse as Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti, Anoushka Shankar, Frankie Moreno, Josh Groban and Sting.
He will make another appearance on PBS, this time for a special, “Joshua Bell: At Home With Music.” The episode will feature Martínez and Dugan as well as Jeremy Denk and Kamal Khan. The episode airs on Sunday, Aug. 16 and will be available to stream on pbs.com.
Bell is also interested in the intersection between film and music. He was a soloist in the soundtrack for the 1998 film, “The Red Violin,” and commemorated the movie’s 20thanniversary in 2018-2019. He and an orchestra performed the score live at various summer festivals and with the New York Philharmonic.
Martínez’s singing career has earned her roles in operas and musicals in Puerto Rico, New York, Napa Valley, California and across the country. She studied at the Music Conservatory of Puerto Rico and holds a master’s degree from Mannes the New School for Music, and interestingly enough, her undergraduate degree is in environmental science.
Martínez collaborated with Bell on one “Live From Lincoln Center: Seasons of Cuba.” As part of that project, President Barack Obama selected her to join a team of delegates sent to increase cultural and artistic bonds of friendship between Cuba and the United States of America.
Dugan has performed as a soloist, chamber musician and recitalist across North America and enjoys injecting versatility into his style of classical music: he also enjoys playing in jazz and pop styles. His commitment to expanding the future of classical music with versatility is evident in his collaborations. He’s worked with Itzhak Perlman, Renee Fleming, Jesse Colin Young, Glenn Close and Charles Yang, among others.
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