Winner of eight special awards and the gold medal at the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 2006, as well as a wide variety of awards in the following years.
He was born to German parents in Italy.
He has a diploma from Istituto Mascagni, as well as Graduate and Artist diplomas from the Juilliard School.
A fire that happened on his family's farm when he was fifteen burned much of his body, including his face and bow arm, but he resumed performing two years later.
He played a piece called "Violin Concerto No. 2" by Sergei Prokofiev with the Los Angeles Philharmonic less than two years after he debuted at the Hollywood Bowl in 2010.
