About Jon

Jon Vriesacker is a violinist with extensive experience in a number of styles.

He is a member of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and has worked with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gunther Schuller. He studied at the Berklee College of Music with Matt Glaser and has a Bachelor of Music degree from UW-Madison.

Jon also has significant experience playing jazz, bluegrass and other improvised styles. He has soloed with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and been featured with violin legends Johnny Frigo and Johnny Gimble.

Jon has played on promotional materials for Lands’ End and Miller Brewing and can be heard on recordings from Willy Porter, Freedy Johnston and Garbage, including Version 2.0 which was nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album and Album of the Year in 1999.

Jon also played on “Al Otro Lado del Rio” from the movie The Motorcycle Diaries, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2005.

Jon’s book Violin Aerobics was published in 2015. Music publisher Hal Leonard approached Jon to write a violin technique book that would incorporate styles and techniques from pop music. The book contains an exercise a day for a year and draws from jazz, rock and roots music.