British violinist Madeleine Pickering enjoys a varied musical life as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player and director, and these have taken her to festivals such as the BBC Proms, Young Euro Classic, and Morellino Classica, and to venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Princess Alexandra Hall and Wigmore Hall. She is currently based between London and Köln, whilst studying on the Konzertexamen programme in the class of Prof. Michael Foyle at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Köln.

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Highlights from recent years include winning a Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artist award for Making Music UK 2021-23 and being a recipient of the Len Lickorish Memorial Prize in the strings category of the Royal Overseas League Annual Music Competition 2022. Madeleine has given performances of major violin concertos with numerous British orchestras, and, having gained a reputation as one of the UK’s leading chamber musicians, she is regularly invited to perform at concert series and festivals across the UK.

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Madeleine is a passionate chamber musician and is co-founder and director of Seida Ensemble, an unconducted string chamber orchestra made up of exciting young musicians from London and Europe. She freelances with various groups including the London Symphony Orchestra, Collegium Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia and Fantasia Orchestra.

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From 2015 to 2021 Madeleine was a scholar at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she studied under professors Maureen Smith, Tasmin Little and Michael Foyle. She also studied viola with Garfield Jackson and Martin Outram. During her time as a student she won all the major prizes for her instruments including the Theodore Holland Viola Prize 2016, the Winifred Small Prize for Solo Violin 2020 and the Martin/Hooton Violin Concerto Prize 2021.

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Madeleine is grateful to have received generous support from Help Musicians UK, Rachel and Peter Martin, The Rosemary Bugden Charitable Trust and Talent Unlimited. She has been a member of the Musicians’ Company Young Artists’ Programme since 2019, when she received the Biddy Baxter and John Hosier Music Trust Special Award.

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She plays a violin by Giovanni Pistucci of Naples, dating from c.1920, generously loaned to her by the Harrison-Frank Foundation in association with J&A Beare. Her viola was made by Alexandra Apenberg in 2016.