Adding to his illustrious resume, Grammy Award winning violinist Joshua Bell has been named Music Director of the world-renowned ensemble, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Bell conducts mostly from the concertmasters chair and in this way led the orchestra for their first recording of this all-Beethoven repertoire. He is the first American and first person to hold the title of Music Director since Sir Neville Marriner formed the orchestra in 1958.