Francesca Anderegg
Hailed by the New York Times for her “rich tone” and “virtuosic panache,” violinist Francesca Anderegg delivers insightful accounts of contemporary and classical music. Through her inventive programming, active composer collaborations, and precise yet impassioned interpretations, Anderegg has earned renown as a musical explorer of the first order.
Since her Carnegie Hall debut performance in 2008, Ms. Anderegg has given solo recitals in national and international venues, including Brooklyn's National Sawdust, The Arts Club of Washington, the National Museum of Colombia in Bógota, and many others across the world. As a concerto soloist, she has performed with orchestras across South America and the United States. Her three solo albums have been featured on radio programs throughout the country and noted for their “stunning virtuosity” (Fanfare Magazine), “lustrous tone” (The Strad Magazine), and “riveting listening experience” (Second Inversion). Her album "Wild Cities" was selected as a favorite of 2016 by New Music Box, and her most recent release, "Images of Brazil," was praised as “the most delightful disc of Brazilian chamber music to come along in years” (Fanfare Magazine). Ms. Anderegg’s appearances include concerts at Chicago’s Symphony Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with Itzhak Perlman and members of the Perlman Music Program.
Ms. Anderegg’s career is characterized by remarkable versatility. In addition to her accomplishments as a soloist, she is also a skilled orchestral musician, chamber musician and administrator. She frequently performs with the Minnesota Orchestra, and played full-time as a member of the first violin section from 2014-2015. As a chamber musician, she has performed with many of the leading artists of today, including Brad Gemeinhart (Principal Horn of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), Astrid Schween (cellist of the Juilliard String Quartet) and Lawrence Hurst (Professor Emeritus at Indiana University), and many others. She is the artistic director of the Bridge Chamber Music Festival, which brings internationally renowned musicians to perform in Minnesota.
The search for unusual repertoire has made Ms. Anderegg a fierce advocate for new music. Since she made her New York concerto debut performing Ligeti’s Violin Concerto with the Juilliard Orchestra, she has championed the artistic and emotional expression of works by 20th century and living composers. As concertmaster of the contemporary music ensemble AXIOM, she led Miller Theatre's production of Elliott Carter's opera What Next?, in a performance that was rated one of classical music's top 10 events of the year by Time Out magazine. She performed Daniel Schnyder's jazz-influenced Violin Concerto with Orchestra for the Next Century, and performed Pierre Boulez's orchestral and solo compositions under the direction of the composer at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. With her husband, the Venezuelan-American composer Reinaldo Moya, Anderegg has performed a series of original works exploring magical realism and other elements of Latin American literature and imagination. In 2019, she gave the world premiere of Moya's violin concerto at the Lakes Area Music Festival with celebrated conductor Gemma New, and has since performed the piece with the South Dakota Symphony and the Berkshire Symphony.
Anderegg holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and masters' and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, where her teachers included Robert Mann, Ronald Copes, and Naoko Tanaka. She is a laureate of the Corpus Christi Competition and winner of fellowships from both the McKnight Foundation and the Leonore Annenberg Fund. Her festival appearances include the Tanglewood Music Center, the National Music Festival, Music in the Vineyards, and Yellow Barn. An enthusiastic educator and mentor of young musicians, Anderegg is Associate Professor of Violin at St. Olaf College and has taught at many summer programs, including Interlochen Center for the Arts and the Sarasota Music Festival.