A native of Toronto, violinist Jeremy Bell earned a B. Mus degree from the University of Toronto, and from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he received his Masters and Doctor of Music. Bell is a prize winner of the Eckhardt Grammatté National competition and the Conseil Québécois’ Prix Opus. He has studied with David Zafer, Joyce Robbins, Metro Kozak and with members of the Juilliard, and Orion string quartets. Joining the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999, Bell has performed at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, State Museum of Music in St. Petersburg, REDCAT/Disney Centre in Los Angeles, Fundacion Juan March in Madrid, Jane Mallet Theatre in Toronto, Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Tovar Festival Venezuela, Virtuosi Festival Brazil, Adam Festival New Zealand, the Hong Kong Academy, the Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, the Banff Centre in Alberta, and the Chan Centre in Vancouver. Described by the Toronto Star as a violinist who “agitates in the most intelligent and persuasive manner”, Bell has recorded over 25 discs and performed a wide range of music: baroque with Consortium Aurora Borealis, Brazilian jazz with Egberto Gismonti, as well as collaborating with pipa virtuoso Ching Wong, and NYC’s DJ Spooky. In addition, Bell has performed as soloist with many orchestras in Canada, USA and Mexico, including the Toronto Symphony, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra. Bell teaches violin and chamber music at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo and is the artistic director of QuartetFest and the Leith Summer Festival. He has been on faculty at the Festival del Lago International Academy of Music since 2018.
Celebrating their 31st anniversary, the Penderecki String Quartet began their career as winners of the Penderecki Prize at the National Chamber Music Competition in Łódz, Poland in 1986. Now based in Waterloo, Ontario where they have been Quartet-in-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1991, The Penderecki String Quartet has become one of the most celebrated chamber ensembles of their generation. Dr. Bell joined the Penderecki String Quartet in 1999.
Laurier’s renowned Faculty of Music is dedicated to fostering artistic and scholarly development of the highest calibre and to providing a creative environment for student success. Our students, faculty and outside artists present upwards of 100 concerts and events a year to the public. Dr. Bell joined the Faculty of Wilfrid Laurier University as Artist in Residence in 1999.
This web-book is intended primarily for string students approaching the Beethoven string quartets in their formative studies. The following pages will attempt to guide the reader through some of the most often discussed dilemmas of interpretation in the Beethoven quartets and help students make informed decisions in their rehearsals. The materials here reflect the 25 years I have been rehearsing and performing these masterworks as a violinist in the Penderecki String Quartet.
