Biography

Like many other viola players, I started my studies on the violin. I was always curious about that mysterious big violin with a C string. Without having my own instrument, I would obsessively borrow violas from luthiers, dealers or other musicians, just to try and play on it for a while. I was fascinated by the special lower sound of the viola. Without knowing the viola clef, I would play all the violin repertoire that I knew from Bach to Sarasate. I became more serious when I went to Budapest on my Erasmus programme year. There I learned that it is commonly known for violinists to study viola as their second instrument. It gave me all the necessary bravery, and on the money saved from my scholarship I bought my very first viola.

By the time I completed my undergraduate studies on the violin, I was already participating in several youth orchestras and academies as a violist, but I really needed to improve. Seeking further education and personal progress, I moved to Birmingham and dedicated my time to viola playing full time with my current teacher. At the same time, I started my masters in Orchestral Performance with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The next two years were filled with learning a huge amount of orchestral repertoire and chamber music, and it convinced me even more about my passion towards building a career in orchestral music.

EDUCATION

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Birmingham, UK

Franz Liszt Academy of Music
Budapest, Hungary

Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music
Riga, Latvia

OTHER PROJECTS

Mannheimer Philharmoniker
Junges Tonkünstler Orchester

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

What’s on your playlist right now?
Felix Mendelssohn Op.13 in Quatuor Ebene’s recorded album. It is incredible how someone could write this beautiful and deeply emotional music at such a young age.

Tell us something about yourself that might surprise us?
When I was doing my undergraduate studies in Riga, I used to play sets with a DJ in an after party morning club. Worth mentioning that it was quite a special atmosphere being surrounded with sleepless party monsters somewhere around 6.00 and 7.00am. With a short playlist of mostly dubstep music, I would end all of my performances with Boccherini’s Minuet as a personal request from the club’s owner.