David Yonan was born in Berlin, and after winning the Berlin youth competition at the age of 10, gave his recital debuts in Berlin, Moscow and St. Petersburg. At the age of 12 he made his solo debut in a concert at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, performing Henri Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No.2.The Berliner Morgenpost wrote about the performance: “David Yonan is a name one should memorize under all circumstances for the future!” Legendary violinist Ruggiero Ricci wrote: “David Yonan is one of the most gifted violinists of his generation…”

At age 15 Yonan came to the United States to study with renowned violin pedagogues Roland&Almita Vamos, at the Music Institute of Chicago and later with the celebrated violin teacher Dorothy DeLay, both at the Juilliard School and at the Aspen Music Festival.

In 2001 he was invited to perform as a young artist at the inaugural Starling-DeLay Violin Symposium at the Juilliard School, New York, where he was featured in concerts and master classes with Itzhak Perlman. In the summer of the same year he gave his debut at the Aspen Music Festival.

Winner of several significant international competitions, he won 1st prizes at the International Violin Competition Kloster Schoental 1993; the International Ruggiero Ricci Competition Berlin 1995 and Hanns Eisler Competition; Siver Medal at the 1995 International Violin Competition Vina del Mar, Chile (1995), the Brahms prize at the Carl Flesch Academy (1995), International Queen Sophie Charlotte Violin Competition, Germany (2005) Regular solo appearances with the Berlin Symphony, Nuremberg Symphony, Frankfurt Symphony, Baden-Baden Philharmonic, Potsdam Symphony, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Sinfonia, Highland Park Strings, Lincolnwood Chamber Orchestra, North Shore Symphony Orchestra and Santiago de Chile Symphony Orchestra’s among many others.

First commercial CD recording 1995 with American pianist Anne Marie McDermott for the Price Waterhouse label, Radio and TV productions for U.S., European and South American networks. Performances both as a soloist and recitalist in Germany, Italy, England, Denmark, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Romania, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the U.S.

A champion of new music, David Yonan has worked with some of the most distinguished composers of our time, such as John Adams, Arvo Part, and Augusta Read Thomas.In additionhe has worked and performed with distinguished Pop-and Jazz musicians, such as Smokey Robinson, Ben Vareen, Chick Corea, Johnny Frigo, Joannie Pallato and Joe Vito.

David Yonan earned an M.M. and a Soloist Diploma at the Berlin “Hanns Eisler” Music Academy, where he studied with Werner Scholz and received his early violin training with Abraham Jaffe in Berlin. Additional post-graduate education at Northwestern University and the Juilliard School, on a full scholarship of the German Academic Exchange Program and the prestigious German Study Foundation.

Since 2009 he is directing a violin/viola Performance Program together with the principal violist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Charles Pikler at North Park University, Chicago, where he is also the director of the North Park University Chamber Soloists.He is the founder/artistic director of the Fine Arts Music Society, which presents since 2002 concerts and master classes at the historic Fine Arts Building Chicago.

In fall 2010 David Yonan started an Artist-in Residency at Columbia College Chicago, where he is also directing a new String Performance Program. Summer residencies 2011 include the West Branch International Music Festival, New York, the International Vianden Music Festival, Luxembourg and the Saarburg International Music Festival, Germany.

David Yonan is performing on a rare old Italian Violin by Lorenzo Ventapane (Naples 1823) on generous loan from Elizabeth Stein of Elizabeth Stein Company Chicago.

His official website is: www.davidyonan.com