Johnny Gandelsman is a Russian-born violinist who has been living in the United States since 1995. He has worked with a diverse array of musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma, Bono, Osvaldo Golijov, David Byrne, Bela Fleck, Kayhan Kalhor, Suzanne Vega, James Levine, Mark Morris, Nigel Kennedy, Martin Hayes, Alim Qasimov and Fargana Qasimova. He has premiered dozens of works written for Brooklyn Rider and Silk Road Ensemble, both of which he is a member. These include new compositions by Lev Ljova Zhurbin, Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky, Vijay Iyer, Bela Fleck, Daniel Cords, Rubin Kodheli, Dana Lyn, Gabriel Kahane, Colin Jacobsen, Shara Worden, John Zorn, Christina Courtin, Christine Southworth, Ethan Iverson, Padma Newsome, Gregory Saunier, Evan Ziporyn, Bill Frisell, Nik Bartsch, Jenny Scheinman, Gonzalo Grau and others.

Gandelsman was born in Moscow into a family of musicians: his father is a professor of Viola at Michigan State University, his mother is a pianist, and his sister is a violinist as well. He is now based in Brooklyn, New York.