Jeremy Kittel (Jeremy David Kittel, born 26 April 1984) is a contemporary American musician and composer. His primary instruments are the violin and viola and his styles include Celtic, bluegrass, jazz, and folk music.
He leads his namesake group, the Jeremy Kittel Band. He has worked with many prominent musicians, including Mark O'Connor, Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Paquito D’Rivera, the Assad Brothers, Stefon Harris, My Morning Jacket, and Darol Anger.
Biography
Kittel grew up in Saline and Ann Arbor, MI. He attended the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree and earned his master's degree in jazz violin from the Manhattan School of Music in 2007.
Jeremy Kittel has performed as a classical soloist with the Detroit Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestras, and the Rochester Philharmonic. He was a guest twice on A Prairie Home Companion and played the Kennedy Center, Bonnaroo, and Telluride Bluegrass Festival. He recorded parts of the soundtracks for independent films ‘’An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Harvest Moon, as well as the video score for ‘‘Infamous 2.’’
He has won numerous awards throughout his career, some of the more notable being the Daniel Pearl Memorial Violin, the Stanley Medal and Emerging Artist Award at the University of Michigan, the Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Folk Artist, Outstanding Jazz Recording and Outstanding Jazz composer, and twice the American String Teacher Association’s Alternative Strings Award. He is a U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion and a two-time Junior National Scottish Fiddle Champion.
Discography
Solo Recordings
| Year | Album |
|---|
| 2010 | Chasing Sparks |
| 2005 | Jazz Violin |
| 2003 | Roaming |
| 2000 | Celtic Fiddle |
Turtle Island String Quartet
| Year | Album | |
|---|
| 2013 | Mike Marshall and the Turtle Island Quartet | Viola |
| 2010 | Have You Ever Been | Arrangements, violin, viola |
Collaborations
| Year | Title | |
|---|
| 2016 | Sing Me Home (Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble) | Arranger, "Going Home" feat. Abigail Washburn |
| 2013 | Desire Lines (Camera Obscura) | Arrangements, violin, viola |
| 2013 | Fossils (Aoife O'Donovan) | String arrangements, violin, viola |
| 2013 | Inland (Jars of Clay) | String arrangements, violin, viola |
| 2011 | Circuital (My Morning Jacket) | String arrangements, violin, viola |
| 2011 | Send It Down (Kai Welch) | String arrangements, violin, viola |
| 2010 | City of Refuge (Abigail Washburn) | String arrangements, violin, viola |
Guest Artist
| Year | Title | |
|---|
| 2016 | Red & White & Blue & Gold (Aoife O'Donovan) | Fiddle |
| 2016 | The Raven's Rock (Cillian Vallely) | Fiddle |
| 2014 | Notify (Padraig Rynne) | Violin, viola |
| 2013 | Dot the Dragon's Eyes (Hanneke Cassel) | Fiddle, viola |
| 2013 | Go Down Singing (single, Michelle Chamuel) | Violin, viola |
| 2012 | Half-Made Man (Ben Sollee) | Violin, viola, fiddle |
| 2010 | Istiqbal Gathering (John Jorgensen and Orchestra Nashville) | As a member of the Turtle Island String Quartet |
| 2008 | This Here (Seth Bernard) | Violin, fiddle |
| 2007 | No Regrets (John Nam) | Violin |
| 2006 | Fiddle Camp (Mark O'Connor and Guests) | Violin, fiddle |
| 2006 | Gypsy Djazz (The Detroit Swingtet) | Violin |
| 2005 | Cinnamon Matinee (Ben Cyllus) | Violin |
| 2005 | Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (Tally Hall) | Violin |
| 2004 | Songs of Innocence and Experience (William Bolcom) | Violin |
Music for Video Games
| Year | Album | |
|---|
| 2013 | Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm | Violin, viola |
| 2012 | Epic Mickey 2 | Violin, viola |
| 2011 | Kinect: Disneyland Adventures | Violin, viola |
| 2011 | Infamous 2 | Violin, viola |
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