Josh Modney, violin and viola

Josh Modney is a NYC-based violinist, violist, and improviser dedicated to performing contemporary music, collaborating closely with composers on new work over extended time periods, and exploring adventurous interpretations of the standard repertoire. A “superb violinist” and “new-music luminary” hailed for “brash, energetic performances” (The New York Times), Josh has performed as a soloist and chamber musician at festivals and concert series across four continents, presented hundreds of premieres, and worked closely with major figures including Mathias Spahlinger, Helmut Lachenmann, George Lewis, Christian Wolff, and Peter Ablinger.

In addition to his membership in ICE, Josh is violinist and Executive Director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, a unique collection of composers, improvisers, and interpreters committed to making adventurous music, lauded for "dense, wild, yet artfully controlled" performances (The New York Times), "combining striking stylistic and aesthetic assurance with technical perfection" (Torsten Möller, Dissonanz). Josh performed internationally with the Mivos Quartet for eight years, a vital new-music string quartet that he co-founded in 2008.

Josh’s repertoire encompasses a wide range, from J.S Bach to seminal Late 20th Century works by Bernard Parmegiani, Luciano Berio and Kaija Saariaho, and new compositions by some of today’s most innovative and exciting composers. Deep collaboration with composers and the long-term development of performance practice for contemporary music is a focus of Josh’s activities, and he has developed new work with artists including Kate Soper, Alex Mincek, Eric Wubbels, Sam Pluta, Rick Burkhardt, Andrew Greenwald and Scott Wollschleger, among others. Josh’s interests include Just Intonation and psycho-acoustic phenomena, extended playing techniques, and performance with live electronics. As an improviser, Josh has appeared with performers including Nate Wooley, Sam Pluta, ZS, and Patrick Higgins.

An active recording artist, Josh’s credits include albums on Carrier Records, Deutsche Grammophon, hat[now]ART, Tzadik, Sacred Bones, and Ex Cathedra. He holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music (M.M. in contemporary performance) and Ithaca College.