2007 was a big year for violinist Joshua Bell:
● He was named a guest lecturer at his alma mater, Indiana University.
● He won the coveted $75,000 Avery Fisher Prize, one of the most prestigious honors for American instrumentalists.
● He played a sold-out, televised New Year's Eve concert with the New York Philharmonic.
● And he turned 40.
But his biggest accomplishment was far from the concert stage.
Last summer, Bell became a father.
In an interview in December, just after his landmark birthday, Bell said the birth of his son, Josef Matricardi Bell, on July 31 was the highlight of his year.
In a blog posting to his fans in late August, Bell said he and his former girlfriend, Lisa Matricardi, decided to start a family together. The couple had been together seven years before splitting up in 1999, but had remained close.
In December, Bell gushed that he is reveling in fatherhood. His tour schedule is still unrelenting, with dates around the country and frequent jaunts to Europe. But he finds himself jumping on the first available flight home to be near his son.
Asked if he plans to slow down, Bell said he didn't think so, especially since his schedule is booked two to three years in advance, including his appearance with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra on Tuesday.
Bell returns to the TSO to perform Corigliano's "Pope's Concert" from the "The Red Violin." It's his third Tucson concert since he played a sold-out concert with the TSO in 2005.
In the middle of the December interview, Bell suddenly recalled how he had met TSO Conductor George Hanson.
"I was visiting friends at Indiana University. I think I was 13 or 14. A lot of my friends were older and I was hanging out. That's when I met George Hanson," he recalled.
Hanson also remembered that first meeting.
"It was at a pizza joint across the street from the music school, known as Bear's (Pizza). There were video games there including a Pac-Man and here was this electronic equivalent of a pinball wizard wailing away at Pac-Man and setting a record, and that was Josh Bell," Hanson said. "That was the first time I ever talked to him. We crossed paths a few times at the school."
In 1996, Bell snagged the video game Crystal Caliburn World Championship.
For more:
Joshua Bell vs. Itzhak Perlman, Page E4.
