Biography:

"The greatest living exponent of the electric violin" —BBC Radio

"Inspiring. Silverman is in a class of his own" —Mark Swed, LA Times

"Fleet agility and tangy expressivity with wailing hints of Jimi Hendrix" —Anthony Tommasini, New York Times

"Tracy Silverman played as if he believed in every note and there was a whooping standing ovation." —Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News

"Charismatic" —Stephen Pettitt, The Evening Standard (London)

"His deep engagement with the music coursed through his strong, supple virtuosity." —Hilary Finch, The Times (London)

"Startling virtuosity" —Andrew Clements, The Guardian (London)

Recording artist/composer Tracy Silverman has performed and recorded with a virtual who's who of the rock, pop, new music, and jazz fields, and is considered a leading innovator on the electric violin, known both in concert halls and in rock clubs, with a trademark sound which is instantly recognizable. His 1999 self-produced release, "Trip to the Sun" has become a cult favorite which by Billboard Magazine raved as "the most adventurous Windham Hill album ever." Silverman's Electric Violin Concerto has been heralded by the Wichita Eagle as "the ideal piece for today's symphony."

Pulitzer Prize winning composer John Adams wrote the electric violin concerto "The Dharma at Big Sur" expressly for Tracy, who played the premier at the gala opening of the LA Philharmonic's new home, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, with the LA Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen and has performed it in New York's Lincoln Center, London's Royal Albert Hall, with the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, in Brussels and has recorded it for Nonesuch Records with the BBC Symphony.

Tracy was first violinist with the Turtle Island String Quartet for four years and has been featured as a violinist and record producer on CBS News Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. He produced and appears on Jim Brickman's hit "Simple Things" and "Lovesongs and Lullabies" CDs and on 2 of Jim's popular TV Specials. An international touring artist, in 1999 he was awarded Artist in Residence status by the city of Hamburg, Germany and is a frequent concert attraction in Brazil. The Rhein Zeitung wrote "...technically brilliant to the fingertips, but overthrowing all the usual preconceived ideas." "Silverman is a fine, expressive player," said the London Guardian.

Tracy has recorded and performed with Jim Brickman, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Guster, Tuck and Patty, Linda Ronstadt, Terry Riley, Eliot Fisk, Billy Taylor, Bob Geldof, and as a soloist with major orchestras, including the Detroit Symphony conducted by Neemi Jarvi. He has written an Electric Violin Concerto which was premiered in April 2002 and is programmed extensively in the U.S. and abroad. He has performed from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Vienna, Austria; from Carnegie Hall to the Hollywood Bowl with appearances on national radio and television, including NPR's Performance Today, MPR's St. Paul Sunday and A Prarie Home Companion. He has taught at Macalester College in St. Paul, and at the MacPhail Center for the Arts in Minneapolis as well as at workshops all over the world, including the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Jazz in July at Amherst, Oberlin Conservatory and many others. He currently holds a teaching position at Belmont University in Nashville where he teaches jazz and rock violin exclusively.

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Tracy's eclectic background serves him as a producer as well as performer and he appears as a featured artist, writer, arranger and producer on many recordings, with TV soundtrack credits including the WGBH 10-hour miniseries, A Science Odyssey and Nova episodes. Producer/arranger credits include Jim Brickman's hit album "Simple Things" and Windham Hill's "On A Starry Night," among many others. Tracy is currently touring internationally with his solo concerts, workshops and various collaborations, and as the singer/electric violinist in the rock band Dogs for Daisy. Tracy lives in Nashville, TN.