Callum Smart

Professor of Violin

‘Playing with an inherent nobility that speaks to the heart’ (International Record Review)

Callum Smart is quickly developing an international reputation as one of Britain’s finest young violinists and an innovative pedagogue, combining his professorship at the RNCM with his following of 40k+ on Instagram. He is celebrated for the sincerity of his singing line, combining ‘brilliant technique with the confidence to take risks’ (Bachtrack) and his ‘utterly convincing’ interpretations (BBC Music Magazine).

Recognised as a rising star since winning the BBC Young Musician strings category and being the top European prize-winner at the Menuhin Competition in 2010, Smart now enjoys concert appearances with the UK’s leading orchestras, including re-invitations to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

This season Callum performs the Elgar Concerto, both in the UK and US, as well as concerto performances of Korngold, Bruch, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, and a Mozart Sinfonie Concertante with the Hallé Orchestra. It also sees the return of a full recital schedule with pianist Richard Uttley and a series of trio concerts with horn player Ben Goldscheider.

Previous season highlights include his debut with the BBC Philharmonic performing Berg Concerto, and his North American debut with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as performances with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, European Union Chamber Orchestra, Orpheus Sinfonia and Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, covering a range of concerto repertoire from Bach and Beethoven to Sibelius, Brahms, Britten, Prokofiev, Elgar and Weill. As a recitalist, Smart performs at some of the world’s most prestigious venues including London’s Wigmore Hall, the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, and at a number of European festivals including the Cheltenham Festival, Dvorak Festival in Prague, Menuhin Festival, Mecklenburg Vorpommern and the Malmo International String Festival. Continuing his advocacy for new music, Smart worked with composer George Benjamin to perform his Three Pieces for solo violin at both the Wigmore Hall and the Royal Northern College of Music. He also performed Kaija Saariaho’s Nocturne for solo violin at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Now with 3 recital discs to his name, 2020 saw the release of ‘Transatlantic’, which was a top 30 album on the UK classical charts and earned Smart features as Classic FM and Scala Artist of the Week.

Smart earned an Artist Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with Mauricio Fuks. He then took up a place on the International Artist Diploma postgraduate course at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) studying with Ana Chumachenco and Noah Bendix-Bagley.

Smart plays on a c.1730-35 violin by Carlo Bergonzi.