Johnny Gandelsman (Violin ’99) Awarded a 2024 MacArthur Fellowship

Congratulations to Curtis alumnus, violinist Johnny Gandelsman (’99), who was awarded an $800,000 MacArthur Fellowship for his “exceptional creativity” and for “reimagining classical works and nurturing the creation of new music across styles and genres.” Mr. Gandelsmann is the sole musician of 22 Fellows selected for 2024, a cohort comprised of artists, writers, filmmakers, choreographers, historians, and scientists. This marks the second time a Curtis alumni has received this prestigious award; the first being violinist Leila Josefowicz (’97) in 2008.

The GRAMMY-winning New York-based violinist, recording artist, producer, and founding member of the acclaimed string quartet Brooklyn Rider was a member of the Silk Road Ensemble from 2002–20, and his recording of the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Chart and made it onto both New York Magazine’s and the New York Times’ best-of-the-year lists. Mr. Gandelsman has worked closely with such musical luminaries as Béla Fleck, Martin Hayes, Kayhan Kalhor, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark Morris, Anne Sofie von Otter, Alim Qasimov, and Fargana Qasimova, Joshua Redman, Suzanne Vega, Abigail Washburn, and Damian Woetzel.

The MacArthur Foundation is a Chicago-based private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations all around the world; its fellowships have been awarded to U.S. citizens annually since 1981. The aim is to “identify extraordinarily creative individuals with a track record of excellence in a field of scholarship or area of practice, who demonstrate the ability to impact society in significant and beneficial ways.”

Read more about the 2024 MacArthur Fellow recipients.