Victoria Simonsen

Professor of Cello

MMus(perf.), PGDipRNCM, PPRNCM

Email: [email protected]

An alumna of the RNCM, Victoria studied cello with Ralph Kirshbaum and Karine Georgian and composition with Anthony Gilbert, culminating with winning the Gold Medal. She later continued her studies as a string quartet fellow at the Guildhall School of Music and with Julius Berger at the Leopold-Mozart-Zentrum der Universität Augsburg in Germany. Victoria gained further inspiration through masterclasses with cellists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Anner Bylsma, Bernard Greenhouse, Gary Hoffman, Luis Claret, Philippe Muller, Johannes Goritzki, Colin Carr, Raphael Wallfisch and Jens Peter Maintz.

Whilst a student her awards included winning the Royal Over-Seas League Strings Competition, NZ Young Musician of the Year, Johann-Andreas-Stein-Wettbewerb, Leonard Rose Prize, Barbirolli Cello Prize, the prestigious Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, an ESU Scholarship, as well as being selected as a Countess of Munster Recital Soloist and for a Purcell Room Solo Debut (Park Lane Group).

Victoria now enjoys a varied musical life which includes solo, chamber music and orchestral work as well as recording film and television soundtracks. Her love of chamber music has led to concerts at festivals such as IMS Prussia Cove, BBC Proms London, Kronberg Germany, Banff Canada, Singapore and Chamber Music NZ. Her performances have been broadcast on radio and TV in the UK, Germany and New Zealand and concerts have included Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room. Currently she is the cellist of the Rautio Piano Trio, with whom she records for Resonus Classics.

Victoria was the Principal Cellist with Opera North and has more recently given televised performances at the BBC Proms as Guest Principal of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She has also guest-led the Royal Opera House, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, English National Opera, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia and Irish Chamber Orchestra. For a decade she was a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and toured throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America with some of the world’s finest conductors and soloists. She also gave frequent workshops and coaching as part of the Philharmonia’s education department.