Southern California was in for a special treat as Antonio Pontarelli rocked out the stage on September 29-30 at the 10th Annual Mercedes-Benz WaveFest at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. Pontarelli, whose fiery performances never fail to get the audience on their feet, will join a star-studded line up of artists who represent a cross section of genres including Earth, Wind & Fire and Brian McKnight.
"My diverse training has allowed me to find my voice in modern rock which has blues, classical and jazz influences. "As an artist, it's all about the music and so it's important to connect with a broad palette of musical styles and collaborate with other artists to grow musically and to be current, " says Pontarelli. "My diverse training has allowed me to find my voice in modern rock which has blues, classical and jazz influences." Because of this fresh forward thinking style Pontarelli has been asked by major Grammy winning producers to write songs for some of the industries biggest stars. Currently, he is in the studio with his band recording his debut rock album which is slated for release in 2007.
At age four, Pontarelli began studying classical violin and starting winning violin competitions when he was only 7 years old. He has made a number of special guest appearances with some of the most talented Grammy award-winning musicians in the nation such as Billy Preston, Ray Charles, Mark O'Connor, Jethro Tull and more! The Grammy organization has recognized Antonio as an emerging talent to watch in 2006 and have showcased many of his performances to industry insiders. Whether it's on the stage or on television, Pontarelli has been seen by millions of people through appearances on NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno, " Fox News, E! Entertainment, TV Guide and NBC just to name a few.
With a number of awards already under his belt, Pontarelli is most recognized for his achievement of the 2006 Songwriter's Universe Competition where he won for "Best Song" for "Things Fall Apart." He was also voted by "Music Connection Magazine" as one of the hottest 100 acts of the year. In 2005, not only did he become "America's Most Talented Kid, " Grand Champion on the NBC/PAX show but was also recognized as the 2005-2006 American String Teachers Association National Alternative Styles Rock Competition Winner.
source :: jazz press service
© 2005 jazz news :: home page
Thursday, December 28, 2006
I CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST READ...
ANTONIO PONTARELLI Signing Autographs at The Greek in Los Angeles
This is an essay which was written by one of our Street Team members, Julian Gan, for a school project about Antonio Pontarelli. I would like to stress that they have never met before, but this is Julian's impression of this rock violinst from just hearing him.
It represents the type of insight that anyone who has heard Antonio's music would understand. You may not be able to express it in the same way as Julian, but you WILL understand the joy you feel. Please take the time to listen to Antonio if you haven't before now espcially after reading this.. You will not be disappointed.
The Lord of the Strings
written by -Julian Gan
He has been dubbed "the Jimi Hendrix of the violin," and is intending to live up to that reputation for a long time to come. At the age of 15, California-born Antonio Pontarelli may not exactly fit the dictionary definition of a classic hero – "a [person] of distinguished courage or ability, admired for [his/her] brave deeds and noble qualities," – but in the eyes of thousands, myself included, he is an inspirational musician whose talent is nothing short of extraordinary.
Being a passionate violinist myself, it has been easy for me to identify with him in terms of discussing music, but I'm still always left in a state of awe and something short of reverence from listening to his playing. Guitars have always been the standard, stereotypical instrument in rock bands, and I've been disappointed that our instrument, the violin, has always been identified with "stuffy" classical music. Suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised to read about Antonio for the first time in a music magazine. The first words that popped into my mind were, "At last, I've found a kinsman," quickly followed by ""That's a violin?!" His signature instrument is a customized, six-stringed, fretted violin shaped like a flying "V", named the "Wood Viper" by its designer, rock violinist Mark Wood. After reading that article, I couldn't get to the computer fast enough to download some samples of his songs. Without a doubt, I was impressed within the initial thirty seconds of his first song. Listening to Antonio's music for the first time, I was very nearly close to mistaking it for a guitar; however, when watching videos of his performances, there was no mistake that he was entertaining crowds of "head-bangers" with a very "whacked-out" violin, but a violin nonetheless.
Antonio is certainly not holding back when it comes to breaking down the barriers between music. He's fused the violin with a myriad of styles, ranging from classic rock to jazz and blues to even heavy metal, creating music that's as unique as his violin. In 2005 his popularity gained momentum when he won the Grand Championship of NBC's PAX TV's America's Most Talented Kids. He literally rocked it out with an electrifying performance and his fiery arrangement of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze." However, it's not just his violin that has earned him a name in the music industry; his soulful and original lyrics have inspired and uplifted the spirits of multitudes of people. In my opinion, that is definitely the makings of a great musician, because the ability for the listener to personally identify with a song makes it all that more meaningful, and is more likely to be remembered by this listener for a long time – more than just a catchy tune heard on the radio. "I don't have a certain method to songwriting, I just take inspiration from what's happening around me at that moment," he says. There's definitely truth to those words, as reflected in his "Best Song Award" from SongWriterUniverse for the epic, Katrina-inspired song, "Things Fall Apart." A theme commonly found in Antonio's lyrics is metaphorically akin to a beacon of light that shines through a seemingly-endless, pitch-black tunnel. The lyrics to one of his songs were the very basis of inspiration for this essay:
It's not too late to turn around,
Lift your feet up off the ground,
'Cause I'm on your side.
Its hard to tell where things will go,
You never try you'll never know,
It comes from inside – "Call on Me," 2006
Perhaps what sets Antonio from the rest of popular musicians his age is that he isn't a pop-singer wannabe with nothing but colossal crowds of adoring fangirls keeping his musical career afloat; Antonio has gained a fan base of over 12, 000 people within a year on his MySpace alone due to his "signature sound that is fresh and forward-thinking modern rock." Antonio has gained a huge amount of respect from me as a musician; he also has my admiration as a person. With the heaps of prestigious national and locals awards constantly being unloaded upon him, it would be very easy to become arrogant and self-absorbed. Having had the privilege to hold several online conversations with Antonio, I've (thankfully) realized this isn't the case. At times, his humble nature and humility reaches the point where I would love to whack him up the side of the head with his violin bow. Antonio's dedication to his fans is highly admirable; regardless of what goes on with his life or musical career, he always takes the time to personally respond to his fans' e-mails and comments left on his website. For me, that is another defining quality of a great musician; I don't know of many celebrities today who would bother taking the time to personally and individually acknowledge their fans' support.
Whenever I'm having a particularly rough day, or I'm in desperate need for an injection of creativity and inspiration, I immerse myself in some of Antonio's influential, provocative lyrics. Usually after one song, my mood already lightens considerably. For a musician's lyrics to have such an effect on any person, that makes him or her someone special. I read a very impressive article on his website about his theory about "the music of the spheres":
"I believe that all matter is frozen music. The music of atoms spinning in orbit is 20 octaves higher than we can hear; the constant trembling of the earth is 20 octaves lower. Every person's DNA plays music, because it was formed by sound. That brings us to my work of using sound to heal.
Last year when my dad was diagnosed with AML, a very serious form of leukemia. I began to compose a concerto for his healing on the violin and on the piano. Every time that I went to see him I played this sacred song of healing. There was never a doubt in my mind that he would have a complete and total recovery, and he has.
If you take someone's DNA and assign musical notes to the nucleotides and create key, timing and note duration, you will hear the song of their soul. When it is played it can heal depression, restore imbalances, which cause disease and put them in touch with their life's purposes. I believe that sound is the key to creating neurological pathways to the vast part of our brain that we do not use..." Written by Antonio, age 10, antoniomusic.com/spheres.html
Antonio is truly a child of the Mozart effect. He may not fit the dictionary definition of a hero, but then again, a hero is defined differently by each individual. A hero can be someone who has performed a great deed meriting valour, or he/she can simply possess the ability to inspire or influence me or my life. In the latter case, Antonio Pontarelli definitely qualifies as a hero in my eyes.
This essay is copyright (c)2006 by Julian Gan, all rights reserved. Please do not copy or post for distribution on other sites
without the author's permission.
This is an essay which was written by one of our Street Team members, Julian Gan, for a school project about Antonio Pontarelli. I would like to stress that they have never met before, but this is Julian's impression of this rock violinst from just hearing him.
It represents the type of insight that anyone who has heard Antonio's music would understand. You may not be able to express it in the same way as Julian, but you WILL understand the joy you feel. Please take the time to listen to Antonio if you haven't before now espcially after reading this.. You will not be disappointed.
The Lord of the Strings
written by -Julian Gan
He has been dubbed "the Jimi Hendrix of the violin," and is intending to live up to that reputation for a long time to come. At the age of 15, California-born Antonio Pontarelli may not exactly fit the dictionary definition of a classic hero – "a [person] of distinguished courage or ability, admired for [his/her] brave deeds and noble qualities," – but in the eyes of thousands, myself included, he is an inspirational musician whose talent is nothing short of extraordinary.
Being a passionate violinist myself, it has been easy for me to identify with him in terms of discussing music, but I'm still always left in a state of awe and something short of reverence from listening to his playing. Guitars have always been the standard, stereotypical instrument in rock bands, and I've been disappointed that our instrument, the violin, has always been identified with "stuffy" classical music. Suffice it to say, I was pleasantly surprised to read about Antonio for the first time in a music magazine. The first words that popped into my mind were, "At last, I've found a kinsman," quickly followed by ""That's a violin?!" His signature instrument is a customized, six-stringed, fretted violin shaped like a flying "V", named the "Wood Viper" by its designer, rock violinist Mark Wood. After reading that article, I couldn't get to the computer fast enough to download some samples of his songs. Without a doubt, I was impressed within the initial thirty seconds of his first song. Listening to Antonio's music for the first time, I was very nearly close to mistaking it for a guitar; however, when watching videos of his performances, there was no mistake that he was entertaining crowds of "head-bangers" with a very "whacked-out" violin, but a violin nonetheless.
Antonio is certainly not holding back when it comes to breaking down the barriers between music. He's fused the violin with a myriad of styles, ranging from classic rock to jazz and blues to even heavy metal, creating music that's as unique as his violin. In 2005 his popularity gained momentum when he won the Grand Championship of NBC's PAX TV's America's Most Talented Kids. He literally rocked it out with an electrifying performance and his fiery arrangement of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze." However, it's not just his violin that has earned him a name in the music industry; his soulful and original lyrics have inspired and uplifted the spirits of multitudes of people. In my opinion, that is definitely the makings of a great musician, because the ability for the listener to personally identify with a song makes it all that more meaningful, and is more likely to be remembered by this listener for a long time – more than just a catchy tune heard on the radio. "I don't have a certain method to songwriting, I just take inspiration from what's happening around me at that moment," he says. There's definitely truth to those words, as reflected in his "Best Song Award" from SongWriterUniverse for the epic, Katrina-inspired song, "Things Fall Apart." A theme commonly found in Antonio's lyrics is metaphorically akin to a beacon of light that shines through a seemingly-endless, pitch-black tunnel. The lyrics to one of his songs were the very basis of inspiration for this essay:
It's not too late to turn around,
Lift your feet up off the ground,
'Cause I'm on your side.
Its hard to tell where things will go,
You never try you'll never know,
It comes from inside – "Call on Me," 2006
Perhaps what sets Antonio from the rest of popular musicians his age is that he isn't a pop-singer wannabe with nothing but colossal crowds of adoring fangirls keeping his musical career afloat; Antonio has gained a fan base of over 12, 000 people within a year on his MySpace alone due to his "signature sound that is fresh and forward-thinking modern rock." Antonio has gained a huge amount of respect from me as a musician; he also has my admiration as a person. With the heaps of prestigious national and locals awards constantly being unloaded upon him, it would be very easy to become arrogant and self-absorbed. Having had the privilege to hold several online conversations with Antonio, I've (thankfully) realized this isn't the case. At times, his humble nature and humility reaches the point where I would love to whack him up the side of the head with his violin bow. Antonio's dedication to his fans is highly admirable; regardless of what goes on with his life or musical career, he always takes the time to personally respond to his fans' e-mails and comments left on his website. For me, that is another defining quality of a great musician; I don't know of many celebrities today who would bother taking the time to personally and individually acknowledge their fans' support.
Whenever I'm having a particularly rough day, or I'm in desperate need for an injection of creativity and inspiration, I immerse myself in some of Antonio's influential, provocative lyrics. Usually after one song, my mood already lightens considerably. For a musician's lyrics to have such an effect on any person, that makes him or her someone special. I read a very impressive article on his website about his theory about "the music of the spheres":
"I believe that all matter is frozen music. The music of atoms spinning in orbit is 20 octaves higher than we can hear; the constant trembling of the earth is 20 octaves lower. Every person's DNA plays music, because it was formed by sound. That brings us to my work of using sound to heal.
Last year when my dad was diagnosed with AML, a very serious form of leukemia. I began to compose a concerto for his healing on the violin and on the piano. Every time that I went to see him I played this sacred song of healing. There was never a doubt in my mind that he would have a complete and total recovery, and he has.
If you take someone's DNA and assign musical notes to the nucleotides and create key, timing and note duration, you will hear the song of their soul. When it is played it can heal depression, restore imbalances, which cause disease and put them in touch with their life's purposes. I believe that sound is the key to creating neurological pathways to the vast part of our brain that we do not use..." Written by Antonio, age 10, antoniomusic.com/spheres.html
Antonio is truly a child of the Mozart effect. He may not fit the dictionary definition of a hero, but then again, a hero is defined differently by each individual. A hero can be someone who has performed a great deed meriting valour, or he/she can simply possess the ability to inspire or influence me or my life. In the latter case, Antonio Pontarelli definitely qualifies as a hero in my eyes.
This essay is copyright (c)2006 by Julian Gan, all rights reserved. Please do not copy or post for distribution on other sites
without the author's permission.
Antonio Pontarelli performing Jimi Hendrix
Have you ever seen a violinist rock out to Hendrix? Check out this video for an awesome performance.
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