Ann Marie began her classical training on the violin at the age of 3, and she earned a fellowship with the National Symphony orchestra while she was in high school. In addition to her classical training, Ann Marie has branched out into other musical genres including bluegrass fiddle, jazz violin, rock violin and world music.
Ann Marie has toured with legendary performers including Jethro Tull, virturoso gutarist Steve Vai in his String Theories band, Ringo Starr, and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, and she joined the Foo Fighters in performing at the Grammy Awards.
In addition, Ann Marie has worked with Mick Jagger, Jon Bon Jovi, The Dave Matthews Band, Widespread Panic, Damien Marley, Switchfoot, Cobie Callait, and Joss Stone, among others.
Ann Marie's talent is sought after throughout the entertainment industry. Some of her current projects include:
Recording on Ringo Starr's newest album which includes a duet with Paul McCartney.
Recording with a new supergroup that includes Mick Jagger, Damien Marley, Joss Stone, A.R. Rahman, and Dave Stewart.
Staring in an animated short called "Live Music" put out by the new film company, "Mass Animation".
Collaborating with Deepak Chopra in a music and poetry project.
Forming a new band under the direction of Dave Stewart (The Eurythmics) and Glen Ballard (legendary producer)
Performing with Dave Stewart in his "Rockfabulous Orchestra".
I asked Ann Marie some other questions, and I thought I'd let her give the answers herself. Enjoy!
How I met Yanni:
I got an email from Yanni's management when they saw me performing on the Grammy awards in 2008. I was asked to audition at Yanni's studio, and I had a week to prepare while I was on vacation with my family. I remember going to the beach and then practicing "The Storm" in the evening. It was a really low stress audition and I was offered the job at the perfect time in between other tours I had planned.
My Hobbies:
I love being creative in different ways. I just started a company called "Baroque Bling" with Lauren Chipman (viola player on the tour). We want to decorate violin and string player accessories with Swarovski crystals, kind of like little pieces of jewelry. We are still in the planning phases, but I am excited about making our first prototypes during the break between the first and second leg of the tour.
Likes:
I eat more chocolate that you can imagine. I have subscriptions to chocolate clubs and I eat chocolate every day.
Not likes:
When I'm on tour, I really dislike not being able to have free time in the cities we visit. I wake up in a new city every day, and I want to explore it but never have the time. I've been to Paris twice and haven't seen the Eiffel Tower. Isn't that kind of sad?
Funny things:
Growing up in Virginia, I learned how to play the five string banjo from my dad. I also played fiddle and banjo in a family bluegrass band.
Interesting Trivia:
Also, I used to be a chemistry and conceptual physics teacher at an all boys boarding school, Woodberry Forest! I guess music and science are both universal languages.
www.myspace.com/annmariecalhoun www.annmariecalhoun.com.
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