Antonio Pontarelli
| Antonio Pontarelli | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 1, 1991 Westlake Village, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, composer |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Antonio Pontarelli (born April 1, 1991), is an American singer-songwriter and rock violinist. Pontarelli has played across the United States and abroad, performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall[1] and Lincoln Center,[2] and collaborated with artists such as Serj Tankian and Jethro Tull. He has won several competitions and awards including PAX TV’s 2004 competition show "America’s Most Talented Kid". In 2012, Pontarelli was hired by FremantleMedia to compose music for one of Google’s Original 100 YouTube Channels; videos with his music have combined views of over 16 million as of February 2014.[3]
Personal life
He was born in Westlake Village and raised in Temecula, California. He was home-schooled to accommodate his music career and graduated from the University of Southern California in 2011. He currently resides in Los Angeles.
Career
His parents gave him a violin for his fourth birthday and classical training soon began. In the years that followed, Pontarelli played in local orchestras and youth violin competitions and from 2003 to 2005, he was concertmaster of the San Diego Youth Symphonic Orchestra. While continuing his classical education, Pontarelli experimented with other genres and improvisation, performing with jazz, country, blues, world, and rock musicians. He appeared on national television in 2004, winning the Grand Champion title of PAX TV’s competition show America's Most Talented Kid. After gaining recognition as a rock violinist, Pontarelli played across Southern California, performing with Jethro Tull, Mark O'Connor, Rene Paulo, David Benoit, and Melissa Manchester among others. His performances continued across the United States as a soloist at Carnegie Hall in 2010 and 2011 at Lincoln Center, and abroad at the 2009 Jakarta International Java Jazz Festival. In 2006 Pontarelli began writing and recording original music for a demo EP. His co-writers on the album included Toby Gad, Dan Monti, Tommy Henriksen, and Wizardz of Oz. In addition to his own music, he recorded violins on Serj Tankian’s debut solo album Elect the Dead in 2007 and on Melissa Manchester's upcoming album. Pontarelli has also composed music for film and television, and in 2012, was hired by FremantleMedia to produce music for one of Google’s Original 100 YouTube Channels.
- ↑ "Antonio Pontarelli Debuts at Carnegie Hall". Yamaha Corporation. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
- ↑ "TEMECULA: Violinist plays at Lincoln Center". The Press Enterprise. 10/02/2012. Retrieved 2014-02-25. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "The Pet Collective's Youtube Channel". Retrieved 2014-02-25.