Adam Summerhayes
“Astonishing all-out virtuosity” – New York Times
“That was so beautiful” – Jude Law (live on set)
“Thrilling virtuosity” – Gramophone
“like the direct descendant of the devil’s violinist Paganini” BADISCHE ZEITUNG
Adam Summerhayes is a uniquely wide-ranging violinist, composer and improviser whose work blazes across the highest levels of classical, folk and contemporary music, bringing together virtuosity, spontaneity and deep musical instinct in a creative voice unlike any other.
An award-winning folk instrumentalist, dazzling improviser, gypsy-inflected collaborator, classical soloist, chamber musician and composer with a major international profile. Summerhayes’s performances and recordings have drawn exceptional critical acclaim, from intimate folk stages to some of the world’s most prestigious halls, and his playing has encompassed everything from Renaissance and Baroque repertoire to new music, concertos, world music and large-scale touring with major crossover and pop artists. That breadth is the lifeblood of his own creative voice: every strand of Adam’s musical life flows directly into the vivid, restless, instinctive language of his compositions.
Adam Summerhayes
Violinist – fiddler – composer – improviser – conductor
“Astonishing, all out virtuosity”
The Strad
If pressed
If pressed, Adam makes no mention of years of stunning performances, great venues and exciting collaborators, and talks instead about finding himself 100 feet from a grizzly bear in Yellowstone Park, discovering that he was inexplicably at the bottom of an extremely deep ditch in Denmark at four in the morning, losing the skin from the end of his right thumb through ‘frostnip’ halfway through a winter tour of the Mid West as concerto soloist, and being (wrongfully) arrested, alone in a desert at dawn, by the US Border Force in Arizona in a surprising episode that involved two helicopters, three police trucks, a lot of men with machine guns … and some cacti.
virtuosic spontaneous duo
THE CIDERHOUSE REBELLION
Master musicians Adam Summerhayes and Murray Grainger combine to produce incredible tapestries of sound. Virtuosic in-the-moment music from the originators of improvised folk.
boundary pushing anglo/irish band
THE HAAR
Turning trad tunes into something breathtakingly fresh and ambitious, Vocalist Molly Donnery combines with World-leading improvisers Cormàc Byrne, Adam Summerhayes & Murray Grainger.
composer
Adam Summerhayes
Adam’s compositions have been performed and broadcast worldwide for over 25 years. Many of his compositions have existed at, or beyond, the vibrant edges of classical music — drawing on tango, gypsy, klezmer — and are represented on innumerable recordings.
Gypsy. Fire. Passion.
VAGABOND
Drawing on the seductive melodies and propulsive rhythms of gypsy, tango and klezmer music, Vagabond hurtles from dazzling, foot-stomping virtuosity to smoky, intimate beauty.
dynamic new string trio
RIOT
At the forefront of a movement of musicians that are aiming to increase the capacity for rampant, riotous appreciation of the joy that is classical music, as well as to transport audiences with the music’s transcendent beauties.
Testimonials
What People are Saying
Adam Summerhayes
“Astonishing, all out virtuosity” The Strad
“Utterly compelling” BBC Music Magazine
“A riveting, dramatic and even sexy listen” BBC
“Intoxicating… virtuoso fiddle playing” The Times
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The Ciderhouse Rebellion
“Compelling, exciting and utterly original” – Phil Beer (Show of Hands)
The Haar
“We need more music like this; spontaneous, alive and affecting” KLOF Mag
Don’t Miss A thing
Adam Summerhayes News And Events
Summerhayes string trios to be recorded by Meridian
Adam Summerhayes’s three string trios for RIOT will be recorded for release on Meridian Records in October 2026. The three works are:No. 1: UnfoundedNo. 2: UnrepentantNo. 3: Unbroken RIOT will be performing the trios in concert across 2026 and beyond CHECK DATES and...
Music Shaped by Instinct – The Strad features Adam Summerhayes
Adam Summerhayes is a violinist and composer who combines his flair for improvisation and a love of folk music with a classical training and technique. He speaks to Alexandra Petropoulos about his latest projects and his very special instruments Full article HERE
Bow of the Week #5 – Étienne Pajeot
Or perhaps I should say ‘Bows of the Week’ as I am comparing two Étienne Pajeot bows (and narrowly avoiding getting frogs in the beer).