Maxwell Brown Bio – Maxwell Brown and River Brown

Maxwell Brown is a virtuosic 13-year-old violinist whose solo performances have been described as brilliant, thrilling, and breathtaking.

Max is a student of Brian Lewis (Austin, TX) and Timothy Schwarz (Philadelphia, PA), and studied previously with Shelley Beard Santore (Lansdowne, PA). As a member of the Temple University Center for Gifted Young Musicians, Max participates in the Youth Chamber Orchestra with Aaron Picht.

Max has been honored to perform as a soloist: with orchestras including the Ambler Symphony, Carolina Philharmonic, Chicago Arts, Delaware Youth Symphony, Midwest Young Artists Conservatory, Old York Road Symphony, Rowan Strings Ensemble, Youth Chamber Orchestra, and Warminster Symphony; in the Delaware County Symphony Chamber Series; in recitals at Carnegie Hall, Juilliard’s Paul Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and the Kimmel Center; and at institutes including Heifetz, the Ithaca College Preludio Program, and Northwestern University’s Bienen Institute.

Max has been the Overall Winner of the Walgreens National Concerto Competition Junior Open Division, second place winner of the International Lowell Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition, and a semifinalist for the International Young Artists Concerto Competition. He has won the MTNA junior division for his state, the Ambler Symphony Competition, Old York Road Young Artists Competition, Warminster Concerto Competition, and the Delaware Youth Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition. For his age group, he has won the Bellagrande, Camerata, France Music, International Artists, Irvine Conservatory, and Long Island Conservatory of Music competitions, among many others. He has been honored to receive the top Coastal Concerts scholarship and the Frankel, Glotzer, and Menges awards, and to be the student performer for the 2023 ASTA Board Meeting. He was thrilled to be selected as one of 12 student artists for Juilliard’s 2023 Starling-DeLay Symposium.

Max has received masterclass instruction from renowned artist-teachers including Robert Chen, Catherine Cho, Emily Connolly, Patrick Connolly, Winifred Crock, Francesca dePasquale, Teri Einfeldt, Hal Grossman, Bela Horvath, Sirena Huang, Juliette Kang, Paul Kantor, Benny Kim, Soovin Kim, Katie Lansdale, Corin Lee, I-Hao Lee, Ryan Meehan, Violaine Melançon, Blair Milton, Dara Morales, Jeff Myers, Kurt Nikkanen, Hirono Oka, Gerardo Ribeiro, Mark Rovetti, Tal Schifter, Stephen Sims, Janet Sung, Almita Vamos, and David Michael Wolff. He is grateful to Lotus Cheng, Akiko Turley, Jennifer Nicole Campbell, and Angela Draghicescu for their piano collaborations. Through Coastal Concerts, Max was honored to perform in advance of Amy Yang, and to share the stage with Elena Urioste.

An avid fiddler, Max has won numerous youth and adult contests, and is a two-time youth champion of the world’s oldest and largest fiddlers convention at Galax, VA, where also he has placed 2^nd in the adult contest. His fiddle teachers have included Andrew Vogts and Bruce Molsky, and he has received masterclass instruction from Darol Anger. Max also has studied guitar with Christopher Braddock and Mark Unruh and was named the 2021 Maryland State Flatpicking Guitar Champion. Max has shared the stage with renowned artists including Del McCoury and David Grisman, Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas, Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, Mark Schatz and Bryan McDowell, The New Ballard’s Branch Bogtrotters, Trout Fishing in America, the Steep Canyon Rangers, and The Beach Boys.

When he’s not making music, Max often can be found reading, drawing cartoons, horseback riding, playing soccer, and spending time with his family and friends.

Listen to Max’s music on YouTube @swellstrings