I began my adventure with the violin in Caracas, Venezuela at the age of five. I’m not sure what had a bigger impact – my dad who loved the violin and wanted me to give it a go, or the fact that the name of the instrument sounded surprisingly similar to the cartoon character Tweety Bird in Spanish – piolín. Either way, I loved it and have been playing ever since. When I was seven my family moved back to Poland and I continued my music education in primary and secondary music schools and couldn’t imagine doing anything else professionally.
Applying and getting accepted into the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London was definitely a big milestone and, although scary at first, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. The years I spent there have shaped me into the musician and person I am today. I was incredibly lucky to have had amazing violin teachers – Nicholas Miller and Giovanni Guzzo - as my mentors, but also a great number of other chamber coaches and academic teachers who have helped me grow as a musician. In the five years I spent at RAM I completed two degrees - Bachelor of Music with First Class Honours and Master of Arts with Distinction, and was awarded the Robert Rendell Memorial Prize, Frederic Durrant Aural Training Prize and Derek Butler London Scholarship.
Orchestral playing has been a big part of my performing career and I’ve been lucky to have worked with some amazing conductors – Valery Gergiev, Semyon Bychkov, Marin Alsop, Oliver Knussen in concert halls like Vienna Konzerthaus, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall and Glyndebourne Opera where in Autumn 2019 I was part of the Pit Perfect Scheme for graduates.
Chamber music is also a significant part of my music life and in 2016 I co-founded a piano quartet – the Amanzi Quartet with whom we have won the Audience Prize at the 2018 St Martin’s Chamber Music Competition and were selected as the 2019/20 Concordia Foundation Artists and are looking forward to a number of performances in the coming months.
I love travelling, especially when I get to know other cultures while sharing my own passion for music. It has taken me to many countries including Japan, Switzerland, Venezuela, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, UK, Slovakia and Hungary.
Royal Academy of Music
London, UK
Amanzi Quartet
London Young Sinfonia
What do you do with your time when you’re not playing music?
When not playing music, I spend my time probably binge watching a TV series or catching up with friends over some delicious food 😊 If I have some free time I love to walk around London. Even after living here for nearly 6 years, I always manage to find a new beautiful spot I haven’t seen before.
What’s your most memorable moment as a musician?
My most memorable moment as a musician was probably the performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 ‘Resurrection’ under maestro Semyon Bychkov with the RAM Symphony Orchestra in the Royal Festival Hall. We had spent a very intense period of time rehearsing in extremely hot weather (it was one of those rare heat waves in London). During the performance, as we reached the last pages of this beautiful masterpiece, many of us (including myself) had tears in our eyes (and they weren’t caused by the never ending tremolos in the strings). It was a very special moment I will never forget.
Veronica is a member of the 2020-2021 fellowship.