WFCC

Classical Fact

When violinist Jaime Laredo was seven years old, his parents were so convinced of his talent and potential, they uprooted their lives and moved from Bolivia to the U.S. to ensure that young Jamie had the best training and could become a virtuoso. He has more than lived up to their expectations. He made his professional debut with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, prompting the San Francisco Examiner to compare him to Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern in their youth. He studied at Philadelphia's Curtis Institute, won the Queen Elizabeth of Belgium Competition, and caught the attention of the great conductor George Szell who personally coached the young violinist. And if you think his native Bolivia had forgotten about Jaime Laredo, consider that a stadium in La Paz bears his name and that his native country honored him with a set of commemorative postage stamps.