Nicola Benedetti

Nicola is a Scottish-born classical solo violinist and the first Scottish and the first female Director of the world-renowned Edinburgh International Festival in its 75-year history. Born and brought up in North Ayrshire, she started to play the violin aged four and at eight became the leader of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain. She went on to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School for young musicians, before being taught privately. She is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. After winning the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2004, she has performed with leading orchestras across Europe and America. Her most recent recording of Elgar’s Violin Concerto entered at number one in the UK’s official classical album chart. The holder of nine honorary degrees, she is the winner of a Grammy award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo in 2020, as well as two-times winner of the Best Female Artist at the Classical BRIT Awards. In 2017, she became the youngest recipient of the Queen’s Medal for Music. In 2019 she set up the Benedetti Foundation which has since worked with almost 30,000 music students, aged from two to 92, in over 100 countries through ground-breaking in-person real-time workshops and online sessions.