Born in Canada, in 1983, Adrian Anantawan began his musical training at the age of nine under Peggy McGuire. From 1996 to 2001, Adrian studied under Curtis graduate, Mark Childs in Toronto, Canada.

In 1998, Adrian became a student at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, an elite high school for artistic teens in Toronto, Canada. He served as concertmaster for the school's renowned symphony orchestra and was also a member of the award winning ESA Stradivarius String Ensemble.

In both 1999 and 2000, Adrian earned a position with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, ranking second nationally in his auditions, and was one of the youngest members of the Orchestra both years. His participation in the NYO gave him the opportunity to perform with the National Art Council Orchestra of Canada and travel across Canada with conductors Mario Bernardi and Kazuyoshi Akiyama.

Throughout his musical career, Adrian has won many music competitions and received wide media attention and numerous special awards. In 2001, Adrian was the recipient of the Mississauga (Ontario) Arts Council Emerging Music Talent award and the YTV (Canada) Young Achiever award. In 2002, Adrian received the Starling Award from the prestigious Meadowmount School of Music. To crown these achievements, he won the 2002 VSA Rosemary Kennedy International Young Soloist Award and debuted at the Kennedy Centre, Washington D.C.

Since 2001, Adrian has been a student at the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music (Philadelphia) during the school year and Meadowmount School of Music (NY) during the summer, both with full merit scholarships. At Curtis, he is presently studying under Ida Kavafian and Yumi Ninomiya Scott. At Meadowmount, he is under the guidance of Stephen Shipps.

Adrian was born without a right hand. He is an active member and spokesperson for the CHAMP (Child Amputee Program) of War Amps Canada. He performs at CHAMP conferences in Eastern Ontario and encourages young disabled children to follow their dreams.

PUBLICATIONS
(Newspaper and Magazine Cutouts) :

~ "Adrian finds a special bond with music" ~
Connections - Winter 2002

~ "A classy combination" ~
The Toronto Star - Monday, June 12, 2000

~ "He Met the Challenge" ~
Listen - February 2003

~ "Violinist proves that a disability can't control your dreams and goals" ~
The Mississauga Booster - May 14-27, 1999

~ "Violinist Anantawan 'just rocks' into NYO" ~
The Mississauga News - Wednesday, April 14, 1999

~ Recognization letter from Mayor Hazel McCallion (1996) ~

~ Adrian featured in a War Amps brochure (1996) ~

~ Other newspaper cutouts ~