Violinist, Bartholomew Frederick Fortino-Shields, hailed in The Baltimore Sun as “Amazing,” enjoys sharing the joy of music with all people. He performs regularly throughout the United States and Europe. In the winter of 2024, Bartholomew completed a recording project of Bartok’s Solo Sonata for Violin, Sz. 117 and Schubert’s Rondo Brillant D. 895 with pianist, Stefano Musso in Torino, Italy. He recently signed a recording contract with the London based Sheva Collection, where he and pianist Chan Mi Jean, will be recording at Studio Steinway Recording in Lincolnshire, England at the beginning of 2025. The Sheva Collection has been very favorably reviewed in Gramophone Magazine, BBC Music Magazine, Financial Times, and Naxos Music Library, among many others. In the past he has performed with notable musicians such as Judith Ingolfsson, Timothy Chooi, Ariel Horowitz, Gregory Lewis, Holly Nelson, Teresa Ling, Aisslinn Nosky, Evelyn Grau, Isaac Melamed, Arlen Hlusko and Chan Mi Jean.
Mr. Shields was a semi-finalist in the 2024 Classic Violin Olympus International Competition where “…the world’s finest violinists showcase their talent and compete for top honors.” He performed at Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone in Rome, Italy for jury members – Pavel Vernikov and Sarah Nemtanu, concertmaster of the Orchestre National de France, among other prestigious violinists. He was a recipient of the 2017 Garth Newel Music Center’s Emerging Artist Fellowship Program in Hot Springs, Virginia where he worked closely with the Parker String Quartet and the Garth Newel Piano Quartet. Bartholomew was the first prize winner in the intermediate division of the Beethoven Club’s 2015 Young Artist Competition in Memphis, TN. In 2013, he soloed with the Reading Symphony Orchestra playing the Conus Violin Concerto, as a prize winner of the Reading Symphony Orchestra League Competition. He was the first prize winner in the 2012 Allentown Symphony Voorhees Concerto Competition, winning with the Barber Violin Concerto, where he was then invited back for two solo performances at Symphony Hall, in Allentown, PA. In addition, the Reading Musical Foundation awarded Bartholomew the Katherine N. Quartner/Rita Quartner Herman Scholarship, Atonement Bach Scholarship, and the Elaine Bausher Post College Scholarship.
In the past, Mr. Shields has performed at the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Meadowmount School of Music, Brevard Music Center, Philadelphia International Music Festival and the MasterWorks Festival. At the age of 14 he was accepted into the violin studio of Sally Thomas of the Juilliard School. After finishing his high school studies with Ms. Thomas, he completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Violin Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as a scholarship recipient, where he studied under Soh-Hyun Park Altino, teaching assistant to Donald Weilerstein. In May 2022, Bartholomew completed his Master of Music degree in Violin Performance at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he was a scholarship recipient of the Artistic Excellence Award, studying under Judith Ingolfsson. Recently, Mr. Shields completed an Advanced Specialization course in violin repertoire at Accademia di Musica di Pinerolo in Torino, Italy with Sonig Tchakerian.
Mr. Shields has a wide range of teaching experience with beginners, intermediate, to very advanced students who have come from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Canada, Africa, and all throughout the United States. He is the founder and artistic director of the Vilacello String and Piano Festival and is the newly appointed program director and resident violin faculty at the Rocky Ridge Music Center in Estes Park, Colorado for the junior artists immersion program. He was a teaching assistant at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University pre-college program from 2020 – 2021 and a Teaching Artist with Play on Philly in 2023. He was also featured on Rob Landes’ Youtube channel, receiving over 10.5 million views. This October Bartholomew will be giving masterclasses at the Metropolitan State University of Denver in Colorado, as well as the University of Ottawa in Canada.