Biography

 

Born in Aotearoa New Zealand, Claudia graduated with a Bachelor of Music in piano and violin performance from Te Kōki New Zealand School of Music in 2018. Claudia is currently a postgraduate student of Professor György Pauk at the Royal Academy of Music. Her studies are generously sponsored by the Tait Memorial Trust, the Dame Malvina Major Foundation, the Kiwi Music Scholarship, Creative New Zealand and the Royal Academy of Music. 

 

During her undergraduate degree Claudia won first place at the New Zealand School of Music concerto competition, where she performed Bartok’s second violin concerto with the university orchestra. She was later invited to perform Beethoven’s violin concerto with a local Wellington orchestra in 2019. 

 

Ensemble playing has been a large part of Claudia’s career so far. In 2017 she was the pianist in Trio Fantasia, which reached the finals of the Pettman/ROSL Chamber Music Arts scholarship. The following year her string quartet won the Adam Troubadour fellowship programme, where they received coaching from the Jerusalem quartet, as well as a regional tour of New Zealand. Claudia is currently first violinist of the Calathea Quartet, which is an ensemble formed at the Royal Academy of Music. They have recently been accepted into semi-final round of the ROSL Annual Music Competition Ensemble Prize, which is due to take place in 2021. 

 

When in New Zealand, Claudia regularly tours with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and has been a casual member since 2018. She was given a six-month contract to work full time with the orchestra in 2019, before moving to London for her postgraduate studies. Since being at the Royal Academy of Music, Claudia has had leading roles in the Royal Academy Sainsbury Soloists, Royal Academy Chamber Orchestra and the Symphony Orchestra. Claudia is currently a member of the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s Foyle Future Firsts scheme, and in June 2021 will be leading the orchestra in Royal Festival Hall for their Debut Sounds performance.