Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell Join NY Philharmonic's Board of Directors

Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell and have joined the Board of Directors of the New York Philharmonic. The internationally known violinists, both of whom have long associations with the Orchestra, were voted onto the Board for an indefinite term at the Board's final meeting of the 2009-10 season. They will serve in an advisory capacity with full voting rights, without a mandatory financial obligation. This is the first time in the Philharmonic's nearly 170-year history that leading guest artists have served on its Board of Directors.

"We are thrilled that these two renowned musicians have agreed to serve on our Board," said New York Philharmonic Board Chairman Gary W. Parr. "They have performed with the Philharmonic numerous times and they know the Orchestra well. Their expertise and perspective into future strategies will be invaluable."

Mr. Perlman will appear on the Orchestra's first subscription concert of the season, on September 23-25 and 28, 2010, performing Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert. Joshua Bell will play Sibelius's Violin Concerto on October 6-8 and 12, 2010, also conducted by Mr. Gilbert.

Itzhak Perlman made his New York Philharmonic debut in May 1965, performing Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, conducted by William Steinberg. He has since performed with the Philharmonic 76 times - including on tour in Israel and as a conductor.

In the 2010-11 season, Mr. Perlman will travel to Chile and Brazil for orchestral and recital performances; to Japan with pianist and frequent collaborator Rohan De Silva; to Chicago for a special performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to benefit the Rotary Foundation's campaign to End Polio Now; and to Carnegie Hall with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. He will perform recitals across North America, including in San Francisco, Los Angeles, West Palm Beach, and San Antonio, and will appear with students and alumni from the Perlman Music Program at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Terrace Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.

Mr. Perlman has received four Emmy and fifteen Grammy Awards. He performed at the
2006 Academy Awards, and collaborated with composer John Williams on Steven
Spielberg's Academy Award-winning film, Schindler's List, in which he played the
violin solos. He performed at the Inauguration of President Barack Obama in January
2009; was awarded a Medal of Liberty by President Reagan in 1986; and received the
National Medal of Arts in 2000 from President Clinton. He was a Kennedy Center
Honoree in December 2003, and in May 2007 he performed at the State Dinner for Her
Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by President
George W. Bush and Mrs. Bush at the White House.

Mr. Perlman devotes considerable time to education, both in his participation each summer in the Perlman Music Program and his teaching at The Juilliard School, where he holds the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Chair. He was awarded an honorary doctorate and a centennial medal on the
occasion of Julliard's 100th commencement ceremony in May 2005.

Joshua Bell made his New York Philharmonic debut in April 1990, performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1, led by Charles Dutoit, and has since made a total of 30 appearances with the Orchestra. He came to national attention at age 14, when he made his orchestral debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Riccardo Muti. Subsequently, he made a Carnegie Hall debut, received an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a recording contract, and more recently, was the recipient of an Avery Fisher Prize and was named Musical America's 2010 Instrumentalist of the Year.

Highlights of Mr. Bell's 2010-11 season include performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra and the San Francisco, Houston, and St. Louis symphony orchestras. He will collaborate with cellist Steven Isserlis in Frankfurt and London, followed by a European tour with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Other 2010-11 performances include Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw in the Netherlands and Spain, and a recital tour to Canada, the United States, and Europe. He will again collaborate with Mr. Isserlis in Europe and Istanbul with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Mr. Bell, a Sony Classical artist, performs music from the French repertoire on a CD to be released in 2011 - his first duo-recording with pianist Jeremy Denk. His more than 35 recordings include At Home with Friends, the soundtrack of Defiance, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Tchaikovsky Violin's Concerto, The Red Violin Concerto, Voice of the Violin, and Romance of the Violin, which Billboard named the 2004 Classical CD of the Year, and Joshua Bell, Classical Artist of the Year. Mr. Bell collaborated with composer John Corigliano on the Oscar-winning soundtrack to the film The Red Violin, with Wynton Marsalis on Listen to the Storyteller, and with Bela Fleck on Perpetual Motion,
the latter both two winning Grammy Awards.

Joshua Bell received his first violin at age four, and by age 12 was serious about the instrument, for which he credits violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold. He performs on the 1713 Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius.