Joshua Bell ...
Joshua Bell , a violinist widely-admired by audiences and critics, was born fortuitously in Bloomington, Indiana, home of the Indiana University School of Music, which eventually assumed a decisive role in Bell 's musical development. Bell was exposed to music from an early age and began his violin studies with Mimi Zweig . Bell 's talents developed rapidly; he made his debut as a soloist in performance with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra at the age of seven. The eminent violin teacher Josef Gingold , a member of Indiana University's music faculty, took an interest in him and became his teacher; eventually Bell entered the University as a student. Bell 's studies with Gingold were supplemented by additional studies and master classes with Ivan Galamian and Henryk Szeryng . Bell came to wide national attention as a grand prize winner in the first annual Seventeen Magazine/General Motors National Concerto Competition in Rocheste