John H. Littlejohn
John "Adidam" Littlejohn is a violinist/producer/performer whose love and knowledge of different forms of music has given him a unique style and sound. A native of Lansing/Midland, Michigan, he began studying the violin at age 10 in a public school system and began private lessons at 16. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan School of Music (BM, violin performance, 2000) and the Peabody Conservatory (MM, violin performance, 2002; GPD, violin performance, 2004). He has studied with Herbert Greenberg (Peabody Conservatory), Anthony Elliott (Univ. of Mich.), Stephen Shipps (Meadowmount Trio), Andrew Jennings (Concord Quartet), and Yizhak Shotten (viola, Univ. of Mich.). He is currently a member of the Infinitus String Quartet and a faculty member at the Austin Chamber Music Center. He has served as the concertmaster of the Newark Symphony and has been a member of the Baltimore Opera Orchestra, Darin Atwater's "Soulful Symphony," and The Young Eight String Octet. Solo engagements include performances with C.O.S.M.I.C., a European tour with the International Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2003, and recitals throughout the U.S. and Europe. He has also performed with great musicians like Take 6, The Clark Sisters, Branford Marsalis, Melba Moore, Joshua Bell, Gil Shaham, Oleta Adams, Beverly Crawford, Richard Smallwood, and Regina Carter.
As a hip-hop artist, Adidam has produced a full length, self-titled album. “All Day I Dream About Music" is a unique album that seamlessly combines many styles including hip-hop, gospel, classical, bossa-nova, and gamelan. As a musician who truly understands many forms of music, Adidam brings something new and refreshing to the music scene with his ability to feel, capture, and combine them into a sound that is easy to love. Tim Smith, music critic of the Baltimore Sun, called the album "distinctive" with "tightly rhymed lyrics," and a VH1 entertainment journalist called his compositions "extremely original and magnificently arranged and played." In a review for GospelFlava.com Gerard Bonner wrote, "Many have attempted to blend classical and hip-hop. Dare we say that few can do it with the authenticity of ADIDAM." In July 2004, he was featured on NPR as a young, promising musician who successfully combines his classical style with hip-hop. Adidam has also been featured in the Amsterdam News, the Austin Chronicle, and the Baltimore Sun. His latest album, Violinistik, was just released on Feb. 25, 2007.
As a composer/arranger, Adidam has written pieces for The Infinitus String Quartet, The Young Eight String Octet and arranged pieces for many ensembles including the Francek Jazz Sextet (My Funny Valentine for Jazz Sextet and String Octet) and the Soulful Symphony. The "Young Eight Anthem" was featured as an encore on The Young Eight's 2005 summer tour and became an audience favorite. In the summer of 2006, his arrangements of three songs from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for two violins were premiered at the Encore School of Music in a Blue Ribbon Recital.
In 2002, Adidam was a winner in the Virtu Foundation Instrument competition and currently plays on a violin by Oliver Radke. He currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia.