Dr. Edward W. Hardy is a critically acclaimed Black and Puerto Rican composer, music director, virtuoso violinist, and violist, renowned as one of the foremost exponents of solo violin repertoire for theatrical productions.

At the age of 25, "Hardy [was] one of the youngest composers to ever be accepted into the Exploring the Metropolis Con Edison Composer Residency and one of the most prominent composer/violinists in New York City" (BroadwayWorld). “Edward W. Hardy, who composed the omnipresent music, plays the violin superbly” (The New York Times).

Dr. Hardy is also the founder of the Omnipresent Music Festival, co-founder and past senior director of operations of the Northern Colorado Center for Arts Entrepreneurship, and the former digital marketing director and artistic advisor of the Beethoven in the Rockies Concert Series.

Dr. Hardy holds a Doctor of Arts degree in violin performance from the University of Northern Colorado and, for the past two decades, has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician throughout the United States. In 2023, he completed a U.S. tour with the Griot String Quartet in Damien Sneed's "Our Song, Our Story," featuring Met Opera singers Justin Austin, Jacqueline Echols, Raehann Bryce-Davis, Janinah Burnett, Amanda Lynn Bottoms, and Raven McMillon, accompanied by Sneed on piano. Additionally, in 2023, Hardy recorded on Sneed’s second full project for Apple Music in London, gave a sold-out solo violin multi-genre season finale concert at Capitol Hill Concerts, and performed a 30-minute multi-genre solo violin program for 5,000 people at the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s “Young, Gifted, and Black” concert as part of Bryant Park’s Picnic Performances. In 2024, Dr. Hardy performed as a solo violinist, composer, and arranger in The Met's Soloist Superstar Series, "Date Night at The Met With Edward W. Hardy," as a solo violinist and chamber musician in "The Music of Sho Kuon" at Carnegie Hall, as a substitute concertmaster for "Gun & Powder The Musical," and as the violinist in Laura Benanti’s one-woman show, "Nobody Cares."

Currently, Dr. Hardy's discography includes eight singles, one album, and numerous original compositions for solo violin, voice, harp, piano, string quartet, string trio, string duo, Latin ensemble, and soundtracks for film and stage. He has received numerous awards, most recently winning 1st Prize in the 2022 University of Northern Colorado Concerto Competition, 2nd Prize in the 2022 Angie Southard Performance Competition, 3rd Prize with his song cycle "BORN FREE" in the same competition in 2024, a 2024 DownBeat Student Music Award for Graduate College Outstanding Performance in the Blues/Pop/Rock Soloist category, and a Merit Award from Tribeca New Music for his solo violin composition, "Evolution - Inspired by the Evolution of Black Music."

Dr. Hardy's research includes non-traditional string techniques, and beyond his history of premiering contemporary works, his dissertation, “A Compendium of Three Musical Works Inspired by the African American Experience: Recordings, Commentary, and Pedagogical Observations,” was published in May 2024. Learn more at EdwardWHardy.com.