Edson Scheid: Why a ‘Virtuoso’ Violinist Threw Away His First Violin

Many of you have heard Aston Magna solo and ensemble performances by Edson Scheid, Brazilian-born violinist, over the years. You will have the pleasure of seeing Edson in our upcoming concert “Three French Masters,” on Saturday, July 3 at 7 p.m. We asked Edson to tell us a little about his music background, and we are happy to share his story with you.

“I was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and moved to Iowa City with my parents when I was only three months old in order for my father to pursue his MM and DMA degrees in violin performance at the University of Iowa. While living in Iowa, at the age of 2-1/2, I expressed an interest in music, particularly in violin. My mother, who is a pianist, suggested a little plastic violin as a present. To my parents’ surprise, I didn’t like the gift at all and threw it away immediately! They concluded correctly that, because it made no sound (!), I understood it wasn’t a real violin.

“Mr. Scheid is a superb violinist and a musician who can handle the fiendish challenges of this repertoire while finding the music in it…he could probably convert the world’s many historic performance cynics into believers.” ~ New York Concert Review, January 2020

They then rented an actual 1/16^th size violin for me, and this time my reaction was very different: I knew I could now make real music with a real instrument! When I turned three years old, my parents enrolled me at the Preucil School of Music, which offered violin lessons using the famous Suzuki method. And so began my journey with the violin.  We lived in the States until I was four years old.

I continued to study with my father and often traveled within the country to participate in music festivals, where I had a chance to meet other musicians and participate with festival orchestras, wonderful experiences that I carry with me to this day. I performed countless times with my mother, and years later I realized how lucky I was not to have to worry about coordinating a rehearsal schedule with a pianist, since we could simply rehearse at home at any time.

After five years of private violin study in Rio de Janeiro, I moved out of Brazil once again to pursue degrees at the Mozarteum University Salzburg (bachelor of arts), Yale University (master of music and artist diploma) and The Juilliard School (graduate diploma – historical performance). Since graduating from Juilliard, I have remained in New York City as a freelance artist, performing with major ensembles in the city and around the world.

My connection with Aston Magna began at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival in 2011. I had string quartet coaching with Aston Magna Artistic Director Daniel Stepner, who was on the Festival faculty. We worked on Charles Ives’ first string quartet – it was such a rewarding experience! Since graduating from Juilliard in 2015, I have been invited to participate in the Aston Magna Music Festival every summer, and it is always one of the highlights of my summer season. I’m so grateful for being included in so many wonderful Aston Magna programs!”

Edson Scheid is well known for his interpretation and performance of Paganini. Here, a selection from Paganini’s Caprice #1, on period violin.