violinist, composer, IMPROVISOR, educator & technologist

Photo: Bill Wadman

Photo: Bill Wadman

Mission

Just as each individual has an artistic sense which is the sum total of all his or her experiences, my palette exists today as an amalgam of many languages. Long ago it occurred to me that my experience in playing the symphonies and concertos of The Old Masters was valuable, but nowhere near as valuable as participating in the creation of music from inside our present shared experience. Hence my term "present music."  My artistic life is a commitment to supporting art in forms which look to the present day and forward for inspiration and impact. It is my hope that every musician, artist, and even those who consider themselves non-artists wake up every morning to the possibility of the fullest, and most life-affirming self-expression. 

Short Bio

Todd Reynolds is a self-proclaimed ‘solo classical violinist gone horribly wrong’. For years the violinist of choice for contemporary artists such as Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, and Bang on a Can, he’s also a founder of the string quartet known as Ethel. As a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall and in concert halls around the world, his compositional and performance style is a hybrid of old and new technology, multi-disciplinary aesthetic and pan-genre composition and improvisation. He thrives on a stage, whether virtual or physical, encircled by many speakers and a mission control with which to record himself and compose in real-time. His musical weapon of choice is made up of hybrid technology from the 1800s to the 2100s - a classical violin wired into digital technology running through Ableton Live and Cycling 74's Max/MSP which was integral in creating his double-disc debut solo album Outerborough, released in 2011 on the Innova label. His thirty years of creating inside the music industry based in New York City have left him fortunate and grateful, with a bucket list of items greatly filled already, especially having collaborated with artists like Yo-Yo Ma, Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson, Mark Mothersbaugh, and even Bruce Springsteen. He currently lives in the woods of Northwestern Massachusetts where he produces, records, coaches, streams, and supports like-minded artists through his education portal, Amplify This.

Full Bio

Todd Reynolds, violinist, composer, educator and technologist is known as one of the founding fathers of the hybrid-musician movement and one of the most active and versatile proponents of what he calls ‘present music’. The violinist of choice for Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, Bang on a Can, and a founder of the string quartet known as ETHEL, his compositional and performance style is a hybrid of old and new technology, multi-disciplinary aesthetic and pan-genre composition and improvisation. Reynolds’ music has been called “a charming, multi-mood extravaganza, playful like Milhaud, but hard-edged like Hendrix” (Strings Magazine), and his countless premieres and performances of everything from classical music to Jazz to Rock‘n’Roll seem to redefine the concert hall and underground club as undeniably and unavoidably intertwined. In 2011 he released his double CD set, Outerborough on Innova Recordings, featuring InSide, a collection of his own music, paired with OutSide, music written by a veritable who’s who of contemporary composers.

Photo: Bill Wadman

Photo: Bill Wadman

A forerunner in the expansion of the violin beyond its classical and ‘wood-bound’ tradition, Reynolds electrifies in concert, weaves together composed and improvised segments, and makes use of computer technology and digital loops to sculpt his sounds in real time, seamlessly integrating minimalist, pop, Jazz, Indian, African, Celtic and indigenous folk musics into his own sonic blend.

As a cross-genre improviser and collaborator, Reynolds is a founder of the band known as Ethel, a critically acclaimed amplified string quartet, with whom he wrote and toured internationally for seven years. He has appeared and/or recorded with such artists as Anthony Braxton, Jason Robert Brown, Betty Buckley, Uri Caine, John Cale, Steve Coleman, Paul de Jong, Joe Jackson, Dave Liebman, Yo-Yo Ma, Graham Nash, Wayne Shorter, Bruce Springsteen, Todd Rundgren, Jeff Tweedy, Kenny Werner, and has commissioned and premiered countless numbers of new works by America’s most compelling composers, including Michael Gordon, John King, Phil Kline, David Lang, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Meredith Monk, and Julia Wolfe.

As much a lifelong student as he is a teacher and a coach, Reynolds’ educational paradigm is committed to transforming mindsets rather than transferring content. Together with his partner, Isabelle Holmes, he has created Amplify This, a virtual academy serving emerging and career professionals pursuing extraordinary entrepreneurial goals. Their programs issue a call to awaken, equip, and transform artistry using technology, creative expansion, and community engagement. He is currently on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, The Bang on a Can Summer Institute at Mass MoCA, and Mannes at The New School.

He makes his home currently in North Adams, Massachusetts, where he composes, livestreams, coaches, produces, and records from his production studio in the woods of the Northern Berkshires.