Romanian violinist Maria Gîlicel is an emerging performer recognized for her versatility and passion on stage.
Born in Spain to musician parents, Maria started performing at an early age, approaching every performance opportunity with immeasurable enthusiasm. She made her debut at the National Auditorium (Madrid) performing Sarasate’s ‘Carmen Fantasy’ and has since then performed as a soloist, orchestra player and chamber musician at many venues, including Het Concertgebouw, Musikverein Wien, Konzerthaus Berlin, Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, King’s Place, Buckingham Palace, Royal Festival Hall, etc.
She had the pleasure of playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto (2nd mov) under the baton of Maxim Vengerov for his masterclass at the Royal College of Music. She has also had the chance to work with acclaimed musicians Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gordon Nikolic, Nicola Benedetti, Alina Ibragimova, Leonid Kerbel, Oleksandr Semchuk, Vera Rodríguez Mehner, Mari Tampere-Bezrodny and Mariana Sîrbu.
In 2018 she performed with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe as part of their Academy during their tour in Italy. She also took part in the BBC Symphony Orchestra Pathway Scheme that year. At this time, she holds a 2nd violin tutti position at the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and freelances regularly in the UK with various orchestras.
Maria is an avid chamber musician and co-founder of the Chloé Piano Trio, which recently got awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Henderson Chamber Music Prize and in 2022 they were selected as Kirckman Music Society Young Artists. The Chloé Piano Trio won the 3rd prize at the Birmingham Intercollegiate Piano Trio Competition in 2018 and has also taken part in the ECMA sessions in Fiesole and Manchester. Focused on women composers’ music, their first album recorded in its entirety at the Abbey Road Studios will be released in 2022, comprising music by C. Schumann, R. Clarke and L. Boulanger. Their latest endeavour is the organisation of the Chloé Festival, three exciting events of classical chamber music, poetry & talks centred around women composers & artists that take place in June 2023 in Greenwich and Lewisham.
Maria has graduated from her Bachelors in Music with First Class (Honours), Masters in Performance with Distinction and Artist Diploma degrees at the Royal College of Music where she studied with Professor Maciej Rakowski and briefly worked with Professor Ani Schnarch.
She won the Tillett Trust Young Artists Platform for 2018/19 and was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Emily Anderson Prize for outstanding young soloists in 2018. She was also a Park Lane Group Music Trust artist for the 2019/20 season.
Maria plays on a Hannibal Fagnola violin (1925) and a Sartory bow kindly on loan from the Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds.
In her free time, Maria loves painting, reading and spending as much time as possible in nature!