Ann Marie Calhoun (née Simpson; born May 26, 1979) is an American classically trained violinist who has performed as a bluegrass and rock musician in a number of prominent acts, including Jethro Tull, Steve Vai, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band, Ringo Starr, A.R.

She has closely collaborated with Hans Zimmer on numerous film scores,[1] including Sherlock Holmes, Interstellar, 12 Years a Slave, The Lone Ranger, The Little Prince, Man of Steel, and Captain Phillips.

She was born Ann Marie Simpson in 1979[2] in Virginia to a "hillbilly dad",[3] a "documented descendant of Pocahontas",[4] who plays banjo; and a "Chinese mom",[3] who was a classically trained pianist.

I delighted in the contrast of musical styles, and I began supplementing my formal training in the classical violin with fiddle lessons from my father.

"[8] Simpson attended Lake Braddock High School in Burke, Virginia, close to Washington, D.C. As a teenager, she was a youth fellow with the National Symphony Orchestra, a program that took her weekly to the Kennedy Center and provided private lessons with the National Symphony Orchestra's violinist, William Haroutounian.

Before dedicating herself completely to her musical career, Simpson taught science and directed the strings program at Woodberry Forest School, in Madison County, Virginia.

2009 saw Simpson perform with the "First Lady of France", Carla Bruni, along with Josh Groban and Aretha Franklin, at Radio City Music Hall to celebrate Mandela Day.

Simpson appeared several times with Bon Jovi, including a Christmas performance at the White House for President Barack Obama.

[19] She again played with them, with the addition of Joan Osborne, on January 14, 2010, for a performance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City (which was recorded for the 2010 PBS show, Live from the Artists Den).

She also collaborated with Damian Marley to score the documentary Bouncing Cats, a film that follows one man's efforts to use dance to empower youth in war-torn Uganda.

Simpson orchestrated and conducted an arrangement of "I'll Take It All" for Joss Stone to be used with Activision's James Bond series games.