We’re looking forward to reuniting with our friend and colleague, violinist Nemanja Radulović, in early September for a series of performances across the Southwest of England. Together, we’ll perform at Truro’s Hall for Cornwall (10 Sept) and Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple (11 Sept). Nemanja is a dynamic and virtuosic musician who has been described as “a free spirit with an open heart” by Bachtrack. Here are 6 things you might not know about him… 

He was a child prodigy. Born in Serbia in 1985, Nemanja was introduced to the violin at the age of seven and showed an instant and remarkable aptitude for the instrument. Encouraged by his family, on attending a local music school discovered that he also possessed perfect pitch. He went on to complete the school’s three-year training programme in the space of two weeks (!). Six months after holding a violin for the first time, he made his public debut as soloist in one of Vivaldi’s concertos. 

Now based in France, not only is Nemanja a virtuoso soloist on the world stage, he is also passionate about chamber music, and is an increasingly active recitalist on the international circuit. An artist who likes to broaden the boundaries of classical music, his chamber orchestra, Double Sens, have recently filmed and performed music at the Neolithic site of Carnac in France… 

Nemanja and Double Sens perform at Carnac, France

The group Double Sens came about because Nemanja wanted to bring together some of his favourite French and Serbian musicians. He said: “I wanted to gather my Serbian and French musician friends and didn’t have to think about it for too long, as I personally knew each musician, and was certain that everyone’s different personality would work well with the others”. Portraying the emotion of music is the most important thing for Nemanja, he said “I’m not trying to give a history lesson, or a tutorial in how to play the violin […] I just want the audience to feel true emotions through the music I play.”

Nemanja has been widely recognised for his work in classical music. He has been recognised as the ‘International Revelation of the Year’ by the illustrious Victoires de la musique Classique awards; received , an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Arts in Niš, Serbia; and was named as the recipient of an ELLE Style Award for Musician of the Year in 2015! 

Nemanja Radulović (C) Sever

He held the position of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra’s Artist-in-Residence from 2016-17 and, like our outgoing Chief Conductor, Kirill Karabits, is a passionate champion of the music of Eastern Europe. His international debut album, which he dedicated to his mother, was titled Journey East and explored works by Brahms, Dvořák and Khachaturian, amongst others.  

He balances out his musical life with yoga, meditation and spending time with the people he loves. In an interview with us during his time as BSO Artist-in-Residence, Nemanja said “I sometimes meditate in the mornings and I have just started Yoga, I also like to play sport when I can. I enjoy spending time with people I love, to be with my family and friends and to talk about life. I think communication with people is so important especially because today we are so connected to social media. I think that humans need to actually be with other people to really exist and feel their true emotions.” 

Join Nemanja as he plays Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with us at Hall for Cornwall [10 Sep] and Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple [11 Sep]. We can’t wait!