British violinist Freya Goldmark (b.1996) enjoys a busy career as a soloist, chamber musician and director.
Beginning violin lessons aged four, by her mid teens Freya had performed as a soloist across the UK, Europe and Asia, making her concerto debut aged 13 at the Rachmaninov Institute, Russia. Since then, she has enjoyed a burgeoning career performing as a soloist at many celebrated UK venues including Cadogan Hall, Elgar Room Albert Hall, St. John’s Waterloo, Mansion House and The Purcell Room. These performances included concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, Sibelius, Bruch, Goldmark, Vivaldi and Bach.
Freya regularly collaborates with many brilliant musicians throughout the UK and further afield. As a chamber musician she has played at Wigmore Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, Cadogan Hall, Kings Place, West Road Concert Hall, The Purcell Room, and Elgar Room, Albert Hall. Freya is regularly invited to join ensembles throughout the UK – she has recently been touring with Scottish Ensemble and is guest principal of Cambridge Philharmonic for their Spring 2023 season.
In Autumn of 2022 Freya became the new first violinist of the Ligeti Quartet. The quartet have been at the forefront of modern and contemporary music since their formation in 2010, breaking new ground through innovative programming and championing today’s most exciting artists and composers. Their first performance with Freya of Ligeti’s String Quartet No. 1 ‘played with such conviction, such attention to detail and belief in its quality…Music making of this magnificence is rare, whatever the context.’ (Bachtrack).
The quartet have a busy year ahead which started with an appearance on BBC Radio 3’s New Music Show on 7 January. The Quartet’s upcoming performances include Steve Reich’s Different Trains at Kings Place in May, an autumn tour to Canada, and multiple performances at Aldeburgh Festival this June featuring 15 world premieres commissioned by Britten Pears Arts, BBC Radio 3 Bourgie Hall and the quartet themselves.
Freya is passionate not only about performing music but also bringing it to as many people as possible and she began organising concerts in her early teens. She now regularly directs and brings together groups of other musicians. Freya founded The Stamford International Music Festival when she was only 19. This chamber music festival takes place in the town in which she grew up. From 2019-2021 Freya was director of Cambridge Summer Music Festival, the youngest person to take on this role in the Festival’s 45 year history. Her time with CSM included bringing over 120 musicians to Cambridge for 31 concerts in July 2021.
Freya graduated from the Royal College of Music in 2018 where she studied as a Foundation Scholar with Maciej Rakowski, who taught her from the age of ten.
Freya performs on her Camilli of Mantua violin c1740.