Violinist, violist, Arranger/composer

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ABOUT

Earl Maneein is a New York City-born violinist, violist, composer, and arranger known for work that combines classical precision, visceral intensity, and fearless creative range.

A classically trained musician with a lifelong connection to extreme music, Earl has built a career expanding what the violin and viola can do. His work moves between concert halls, recording studios, amplified stages, and cross-genre collaborations with rare fluency, bringing emotional force to everything he plays and writes.

“Earl is a kick ass player who pushes the creative boundaries.” - Robert Trujillo, Metallica

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Earl holds a Bachelor of Music from Queens College and a Master of Music from Mannes College of Music, where he studied with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet. His training gives him classical technical command, while his roots in punk, metal, and New York’s restless creative underground give his work its edge and instinct.

As a composer and arranger, Earl has built a body of commissioned and collaborative work that spans concert music, heavy music, dance, education, and cross-genre performance. His projects include a violin concerto for international concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine, commissioned by Tito Muñoz, Music Director of the Phoenix Symphony; a solo viola work for Grammy Award-winning violist Masumi Per Rostad; a solo cello commission for Leo Eguchi; and a five-minute symphonic work for Carnegie Hall’s Link Up program. He has also written and arranged music for Vitamin String Quartet, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Stony Brook Chamber Players, The Burlington Youth Symphony, The String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and The Francesca Harper Dance Company.

Earl is also the creative force behind several original projects that expand the role of strings in heavy and boundary-breaking music, including SEVEN)SUNS, Black Heart Sutra, and Resolution15. Across these projects, he pushes the violin beyond ornament, treating it as a lead instrument capable of violence, beauty, rupture, and transcendence.

In addition to his commissioned work and original projects, Earl has extensive experience as a recording and live performance musician for internationally recognized artists. He is available for live performance, studio recording, commissions, arranging, collaboration, and teaching.

Credits, Commissions & Collaborations