David Russell

Violinist David Russell is one of the most celebrated violin pedagogues of his generation. Currently, the Anne R. Belk Distinguished Professor of Violin at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Mr. Russell previously served on the Violin Faculty at The Cleveland Institute of Music for 24 years and was Visiting Violin Faculty at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. He is Founder and Director of Mountaintop Mastercourse for Violin, held annually in Elizabethtown, NY, as well as the Director of “Masterclass Al-Andalus” in Spain. He has been a member of the faculty of some of the world's most prestigious violin schools, including Ivan Galamian's Meadowmount School of Music, the ENCORE School for Strings, Keshet Eilon International Violin Mastercourse (Israel), ARIA International Summer Music Academy, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and LMFL courses in Llandovery, Wales, Bristol, U.K., and Le Chambon-Sur-Lignon, France.
He has been a Distinguished Member of the Jury at international competitions such as the Sion-Valais International Violin Competition (Switzerland), and the International Violin Competition of Buenos Aires (Argentina), as well as at several important U.S. national competitions.
He has given numerous recitals and masterclasses across North and South America, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, and was the featured artist in the "World String Masters" performance and masterclass series in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as the featured teacher for the Guest Masterclass series at the Conservatorio Superior de Musica of Córdoba, Spain as well as at the Shanghai Conservatory in China, and the National Library of Argentina.
Mr. Russell served as Artistic Director for the North American Premier of "Violins of Hope-Charlotte,” a two-week series of concerts, lectures, films and museum exhibitions featuring 18 violins restored from the Holocaust by Israeli violinmaker Amnon Weinstein. Mr. Russell performed as a soloist with the Charlotte Symphony, along with renowned soloists such as Shlomo Mintz, Pedro Eustache, Hillel Zori and Cihat Askin, and appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Mr. Russell's former students include IMG Artist Chad Hoopes, members of orchestras including The Cleveland Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, The Louisville Orchestra, and others. Several are members of noted string quartets and still, others are noted University and Conservatory teachers.