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Nicola Benedetti
	;
Background information
Birth name	Nicola Benedetti
Born	July 1, 1987 (age 22); West Kilbride, North Ayrshire
Genres	Classical;
Occupations	Violinist
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Deutsche Grammophon; Universal Classics and Jazz; Decca Records
Website	NicolaBenedetti.co.uk

Nicola Benedetti (born July 1987 West Kilbride, North Ayrshire) is a Scottish violinist.

[edit] Biography

[edit] At the Yehudi Menuhin School

Nicola Benedetti started to learn the violin at the age of four. By the age of nine, she had already passed the eight grades of musical examinations, and in September 1997 began to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School for young musicians under Lord Menuhin and Natasha Boyarskaya in rural Surrey, England. ^[1]

At the end of her first year (1998), she played solo in the school's annual concert at Wigmore Hall, and performed in London and Paris as a soloist in Bach's Concerto in D minor for two violins and orchestra. She played in a memorial concert at Westminster Abbey celebrating the life and work of Yehudi Menuhin.

In the following year (1999), Benedetti performed for the anniversary celebrations at Holyrood Palace with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in the presence of HRH Prince Edward.

In 2000, Benedetti performed with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Opera.

She played to the Prince again in 2001 when she performed a concerto with the London Mozart Players at St. James's Palace. Subsequent performances followed with the City of London Sinfonia, as well as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Opera, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, etc.^[2]

In August 2002, she won the United Kingdom's Brilliant Prodigy Competition, broadcast by Carlton Television. She left the Menuhin School shortly after, and at the age of 15 began studying privately with Maciej Rakowski, former leader of the English Chamber Orchestra.^[3]

[edit] "Playing With Passion"

In spring 2003, Benedetti, invited as a soloist by London Symphony Orchestra and produced by Mattel Inc., participated in the recording of the DVD titled "Barbie of Swan Lake" at Abbey Road Studios. In October 2003, as the extra feature on this DVD, "Playing With Passion" was filmed and released by Mattel. BBC Scotland, using this DVD, created a documentary on Benedetti which was broadcast on national television in the U.K. in March 2004.

[edit] BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2004

At the age of 16, she won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in May 2004, performing Karol Szymanowski's First Violin Concerto, which was not an obvious choice, in the final at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Scotland.^[4] Because of this brilliant victory, she won the music section of the Top Scot award in December 2005.^[5]

At the end of 2004, she agreed to a £1m six-album recordings contract with Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Group Classics and Jazz.^[6]

Throughout the 2004-2005 season, Benedetti took part in many prestigious engagements, including her solo recital debut at Wigmore Hall, royal events in Holyrood Palace and Windsor Castle for Her Majesty the Queen, and the Opening Ceremony of the new Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.^[7] Further performances included various joint ones with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, London Mozart Players, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and so on.^[8]

[edit] Practice-a-thon

In 2005 Benedetti undertook a tour of UK schools in conjunction with the CLIC Sargent Cancer Care for Children Practice-a-thon, which aimed to encourage people of all ages to find pleasure in music and pick up their instruments.^[9]

[edit] Discography And Charts

[edit] Albums

2005: Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1 (Deutsche Grammophon)
2006: Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (Universal Classics and Jazz)
2007: Vaughan-Williams and Tavener (Universal Classics and Jazz)
2009: Fantasie (Decca Records)

[edit] UK classical chart performance

Album	Chart Peak Position
Szymanowski/Chausson/Saint-Saens	1 (2005)^[10]
Mendelssohn/Mozart/Macmillan	2 (2006)^[11]

[edit] Musical Performances

[edit] Debut US tour, 2005

On June 2, 2005 Benedetti started her debut US tour with a performance for the exclusive Academy of Achievement Summit at New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center, where she played the "Meditation" from Thaïs. She resumed her debut US tour on October 1, 2005, opening the 70th anniversary season of the Midland (Michigan) Symphony Orchestra playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, op. 64 ^[12], followed by recitals at La Jolla's Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, California with the La Jolla Music Society on October 5, 2005, at New York's Merkin Concert Hall of Kaufman Center on November 1, 2005, at the Peace Center Concert Hall, Greenville, South Carolina, with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra on November 5, 2005, and others.

[edit] BBC Prom in the Park debut, 2005

On Saturday, 10 September 2005, Benedetti made "BBC Prom in the Park" debut with the BBC Concert Orchestra in Hyde Park, London.

[edit] Performances in 2006-2007

Benedetti has played in concerts and recitals at major venues all over the world since her debut. Performances in 2006-2007 include:

October 11, 2006, Caird Hall, Dundee. Performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto, replacing previously announced Glazunov's violin concerto, accompanied by Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conducted by Stéphane Denève.
October 13, 2006, Usher Hall, Edinburgh. Same as October 11 performance in Dundee.
October 14, 2006, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Same as October 11 performance in Dundee.
October 28-30, 2006, Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver. Performed Glazunov's violin concerto, accompanied by Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Bramwell Tovey.
December 8, 2006, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Performed with "the Glasgow Hospitals’and Friends choir" for the carol concert organised by children’s cancer charity CLIC Sargent, led by conductor Ian McCrorie and supported by the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra.
March 23-24, 2007, Mead Theater of Schuster Center, Dayton, Ohio. Performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto and MacMillan's From Ayrshire with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Carlos Miguel Prieto.
March 31 and April 1, 2007, Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, Iowa. Performed Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto and MacMillan's From Ayrshire with the Des Moines Symphony, conducted by Joseph Giunta.
April 5, 2007, Folly Theater, Kansas City, Missouri. Performed Bach's Partita No. 2 in D minor, Beethoven's Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major, Debussy's Sonata L. 140, Ravel's Sonata in G major.
April 24, 2007, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany. Made her German debut, performing Bruch's Violin Concerto with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, conducted by Jakub Hrusa.
January 5, 2008, National Concert Hall, Dublin, Ireland. Performed Sibelius' Concerto for Violin and Orchestra D minor op. 47 with the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, conducted by Matthias Bamert.
February 2, 2008, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria. Made her Austrian debut, performing Sibelius' Concerto for Violin and Orchestra D minor op. 47 with Tonkünstler Orchestra, conducted by Kristjan Järvi.

[edit] Honorary degree

On November 27, 2007, Benedetti was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Glasgow Caledonian University. She is one of the youngest recipients of such an award.

[edit] References

^ About Nicola Benedetti (MYSPACE MUSIC) - She set her hands on a violin for the first time as a four-year-old Suzuki class member, an experience that reduced the Scottish infant to tears. Nicola's distress proved short-lived, however. Tears of uncertainty swiftly gave way to a passion for playing that propelled her through the eight furlong markers of graded musical examinations by her ninth birthday and onwards in September 1997 to a place at the Menuhin School, an idyllic haven for gifted young musicians set in rural Surrey.
^ 2004 Nicola Benedetti - Violin (BBC).
^ Benedetti makes music, not stardom, priority by Jessica Werb (straight.com)
^ BBC Young Musician of the Year competition (BBC), Violinist, 16, wins musical title (BBC)
^ Top Scot award ceremony 2005 (The Scotsman, 1 December 2005) - But the young stars of Scotland were snapping at their heels, with the teenagers Nicola Benedetti and Andrew Murray being awarded prizes for their contributions to music and sport, respectively.
^ SZYMANOWSKI - NICOLA BENEDETTI DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 987 057-7 (CLASSICAL MUSIC ARCHIVES ~ CD Reviews: Instrumental ~)
^ Scotland's poet Laureate composes poem for Holyrood opening (The Scottish Parliament, 1 October 2004)
^ Nicola Benedetti (IMG Artist)
^ Welcome to Practice-a-thon! (CLIC Sargent)
^ Violinist Benedetti, 18, to perform in La Jolla (SignOnSanDiego.com, August 12, 2005) - Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, who recently turned 18, has already performed for the Queen of England [sic], launched a fancy Web site (www.nicolabenedetti.com) and recorded a CD with the London Symphony that's No. 1 on the BBC Classical Music Charts.
^ Sting adds another string to his bow as Sir Paul takes a bold stride into the world of classics, The Times, April 3, 2007 - Full List of Nominations ... Instrumentalist of the Year; Alison Balsom — Bach / Works for Trumpet & Caprice, Leif Ove Andsnes — Horizons, and Nicola Benedetti — Mendelssohn / Concerto for Violin
^ Young violinist excited, apprehensive about U.S. debut at MSO (Midland Daily News, 29 September 2005)

[edit] External links

www.imgartists.com/nicolabenedetti

[0] About Nicola Benedetti (MYSPACE MUSIC) - She set her hands on a violin for the first time as a four-year-old Suzuki class member, an experience that reduced the Scottish infant to tears. Nicola's distress proved short-lived, however. Tears of uncertainty swiftly gave way to a passion for playing that propelled her through the eight furlong markers of graded musical examinations by her ninth birthday and onwards in September 1997 to a place at the Menuhin School, an idyllic haven for gifted young musicians set in rural Surrey.

[1] 2004 Nicola Benedetti - Violin (BBC).

[2] Benedetti makes music, not stardom, priority by Jessica Werb (straight.com)

[3] BBC Young Musician of the Year competition (BBC), Violinist, 16, wins musical title (BBC)

[4] Top Scot award ceremony 2005 (The Scotsman, 1 December 2005) - But the young stars of Scotland were snapping at their heels, with the teenagers Nicola Benedetti and Andrew Murray being awarded prizes for their contributions to music and sport, respectively.

[5] SZYMANOWSKI - NICOLA BENEDETTI DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 987 057-7 (CLASSICAL MUSIC ARCHIVES ~ CD Reviews: Instrumental ~)

[6] Scotland's poet Laureate composes poem for Holyrood opening (The Scottish Parliament, 1 October 2004)

[7] Nicola Benedetti (IMG Artist)

[8] Welcome to Practice-a-thon! (CLIC Sargent)

[9] Violinist Benedetti, 18, to perform in La Jolla (SignOnSanDiego.com, August 12, 2005) - Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, who recently turned 18, has already performed for the Queen of England [sic], launched a fancy Web site (www.nicolabenedetti.com) and recorded a CD with the London Symphony that's No. 1 on the BBC Classical Music Charts.

[10] Sting adds another string to his bow as Sir Paul takes a bold stride into the world of classics, The Times, April 3, 2007 - Full List of Nominations ... Instrumentalist of the Year; Alison Balsom — Bach / Works for Trumpet & Caprice, Leif Ove Andsnes — Horizons, and Nicola Benedetti — Mendelssohn / Concerto for Violin

[11] Young violinist excited, apprehensive about U.S. debut at MSO (Midland Daily News, 29 September 2005)

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