Nicola Benedetti
Biography
Nicola has crammed a lot into her life so far. She began playing the violin at the age of four and attended a regular primary school in Ayrshire. By the time she was 10 years old, Nicola was leaving her home in West Kilbride to study at the world-famous Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey.
By the age of 15, Scottish-born Nicola (of Italian heritage) was a seasoned performer, having played at the Wigmore Hall aged 10, performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at 13, and won Carlton TV’s Britain’s Brilliant Prodigies competition a year later.
Music
In 2004 she scooped first prize in the prestigious BBC Young Musician of the Year competition and the outside world’s interest in her career had snowballed.
Only a few weeks after her winning performance of Szymanowki’s Violin Concerto No.1 she was signed up to the heavyweight artists’ agent IMG and she has since released two albums through Universal and played with famous orchestras around the globe including the US, Germany, China and Canada.
Nicola was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Glasgow Caledonian University in 2007.
Nicola Benedetti on Classic FM
Listen to Nicola Benedetti talking to Classic FM in August 2008
Listen to Nicola Benedetti talking to Classic FM in February 2008
Discography
2009 - Fantasie
2007 - Vaughan Williams, Tavener
2006 - Mendelssohn, Schubert, MacMillan
2005 - Szymanowski's Concerto No.1, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Brahms, Tavener
