Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Appoints Joel Smirnoff as New Violin Professor

Smirnoff has joined the school’s string department as an adjunct professor

At the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, violinist and pedagogue Joel Smirnoff will join other string faculty members including Mark Kaplan, Mimi Zweig, James Ehnes, and Stephen Rose.

Hailing from New York City, Smirnoff has performed worldwide for over 20 years as a member of the Juilliard String Quartet, which he joined as second violin in 1986 and succeeded Robert Mann as first violin in 1997. 

Following his second-prize win in 1983 at the International American Music Competition for Violin, Smirnoff performed solo at Tanglewood with conductor Bernard Haitink. 

Encouraged by Seiji Ozawa to take up conducting, Smirnoff made his conducting debut with the San Francisco Symphony in 2000. He has since led the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Chicago Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Basel Sinfonietta, Saito Kinen Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, and more.

In 2011, he received a Lifetime GRAMMY Award for his many recordings with the Juilliard String Quartet and was also honored with the Alumni Professional Achievement Award from his alma mater, the University of Chicago.

Smirnoff has served on the chamber music faculty of the Juilliard School since 1986 and served as Chair of the Violin Faculty from 1992 until 2008. At the Tanglewood Music Festival, Smirnoff was conducting assistant to Ozawa and Head of String Studies from 1995 to 2000. From 2021, he has been on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music Precollege.

Additionally, Smirnoff served as President of the Cleveland Institute of Music from 2008 until 2016 and has been on the juries of the Naumburg, Seoul, Bartok, Indianapolis, and Sendai Violin Competitions.

We are pleased to welcome violin professor Joel Smirnoff to our String Department,” IU Jacobs School posted on Facebook. “Throughout his dedicated career as a performer, conductor, and educator, Smirnoff has received numerous prestigious awards and influenced young musical talent along the way. Welcome, Professor Smirnoff.”