Home » Jazz Musicians » Yvette Cornelia Holzwarth

Yvette Cornelia Holzwarth

Yvette Cornelia Holzwarth is a versatile violinist, vocalist, improviser, and composer who expands beyond her Western classical background to delve into Eastern European folk, Arabic, Americana, experimental sound- making, popular, jazz and improvised music.

Yvette performs and records with many artists including Ariana Grande, Kamasi Washington, Van Dyke Parks, Gaby Moreno, Homayoun Shajarian, Brandon Coleman, Rade Šerbedžija, Dent May, among others. Her performances have brought her across the United States, France, Italy, Eastern Europe, Egypt, UAE, Oman, Guatemala, and Japan.

​With renowned guitarist Miroslav Tadić, Yvette has a duo project that blends Balkan folkloric music with improvisation from a wide range of styles. Their debut album LUKA was released on Croatia Records to critical acclaim. Yvette is a part of LA-based Arabic orchestra MESTO and is a founding member of the performer- composer collective Desert Quill Quartet as well as of the chamber group Bridge to Everywhere, which celebrates cultural diversity through interwoven musical traditions.

Residing in Los Angeles, Yvette records on numerous film scores as well as appears on camera in film, TV, and commercial work. She is a featured soloist in Patriot Season 2 (Amazon) and Perpetual Grace (Epix). Other credits include Glee (FOX), The Good Place (NBC), and Arrested Development (FOX). From her home studio, Yvette delivers remote recording services professionally and expediently. She is set up with a sound- treated recording room, equipped with high-quality condenser mics, and works in Ableton Live and Pro Tools. She is experienced in delivering everything from solo lines to orchestral string mixes.

​As a songwriter, Yvette releases original music under the moniker Yvette Cornelia. Her debut EP Open It Up (2013) was followed up by a full-length album What Lies Ahead (2018). Featuring her nine-piece ensemble, this latest album explores the cracks between chamber music, folk, experimental rock, and songwriting.

As a composer, Yvette has had pieces performed by SF Civic Orchestra, Bay Area’s Awesöme Orchestra, CalArts Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and Desert Quill Quartet. She enjoys interdisciplinary work — designing sound for theatre productions, collaborating with choreographers and visual artists, and scoring projects for filmmakers and animators. She frequently works with the imaginative theatre company Four Larks. In 2019, she performed in katabasis, their immersive site-specific exploration of the Greek underworld at the Getty Villa; and in 2020, she premiered in their "thrillingly realized" (LA Times) take on Shelley's Frankenstein at The Wallis Center.

From 2017-2018, Yvette curated an adventurous monthly chamber music series called Hear Sunday in collaboration with the arts nonprofit Clockshop in Frogtown, Los Angeles.

Read more

Tags

“As ingenious as Tadić is, what makes Luka special is the contribution of Yvette, who with her violin brings the spirit of gypsy, even klezmer music, melancholy Americana as well as the playfulness of John Zorn's daring acoustic projects. Somewhat unexpectedly, the album, which could have sounded safe and familiar, catapulted into one of the safe contenders for the high places of this year's list of the best domestic and regional albums."

—Ivan Laić, Ravno Do DNA

"[Yvette's] latest EP 'Open It Up' brings an experimental, classically inflected approach to folk/pop. The songs on this EP are lushly orchestrated, often with Yvette's violin or vocal harmonies at the front of the deep arrangements. The melodies are winding and unexpected but they float on top of a jazzy rhythm section. Not similar to much ... it has to speak for itself."

Read more

Primary Instrument

Violin

Location

Los Angeles

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

In the Dim Dim...

Home And Yonder
2022

buy

LUKA

Croatia Records
2021

buy

Stairway to the Stars...

Home And Yonder
2021

buy

Moonglow (single)

Home And Yonder
2021

buy

Moonstruck (single)

Home And Yonder
2021

buy

Twinkle Twinkle...

Home And Yonder
2020

buy

Midnight, The Stars And You (single)

From: Midnight, The Stars And You...
By Yvette Cornelia Holzwarth

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

From: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star...
By Yvette Cornelia Holzwarth

Videos

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.