Sergej Bolkhovets - violinist

                                        BIOGRAPHY

   Born in St. Petersburg, Sergej Bolkhovets started to play the violin at the age of six. He graduated from a.o. the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, having studied with Ulf Wallin, Zakhar Bron, Tabea Zimmermann and Joakim Svenheden. He has also attended masterclasses with renowned violinists and musicians, among others Antje Weithaas, Herman Krebbers, György Pauk, Ana Chumachenko, Thomas Brandis, Pinchas Zukerman, Rachel Podger, Günter Ludwig, Andras Schiff, Pierre Amoyal and Krysztof Wegrzyn.

   As a soloist, Sergej has on several occasions performed on Swedish Television and holds several prizes from prestigious Swedish and international competitions: 1st Prizes at "Yong Artists" in Stockholm 1999 and "Young Soloists" in Helsingbog 2003, 2nd prize at "Ljunggrenska" in Göteborg 2005 and 4th Prize at the Val Tidone International Competition "Anguissola Scotti" Chamber Music Prize 2009.

   Since 2001 Sergej has performed violin concertos by J. Adams, Bach, Beethoven, Bottesini, Bruch, Brahms, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Khachaturian, Nielsen, Prokofiev, Schostakovich, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi (4 Seasons) and Vaughan-Williams with various orchestras in Sweden, Germany, Poland and Portugal. He has performed at several festivals, a.o. at the Ottobeuren Festspiele in Germany and at the Gotland Chamber Music Festival with a.o. Staffan Scheja, Roland Pöntinen, Svante Henryson och Lena Hoel. In April 2009, he made his debut with the Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing the Sibelius violin concerto, and in 2010 with the Bielefeld Philharmonic he performed John Adams "The Dharma at Big Sur" concerto for 6-stringed e-violin in 9 performances. Sergej has also received numerous scholarships from a.o. Swedish Royal Academy of Music.

   Furthermore, Sergej has a rich experience in orchestral playing. Since the age of 15 he has played in some of the world’s most prestigious youth orchestras like Orkester Norden, European Union Youth Orchestra, UBS Verbier Festival Orchestra, and Gustav Mahler Jugend Orchester with conductors such as Levine, Mehta, Welser-Möst, Temirkanov, Sawallisch, Paavo Järvi, Kamu, Nagano and Abbado. During the summer 2005 Sergej worked as the 1st concertmaster in the Orkester Norden under Okko Kamu and Eri Klas performing a.o. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade. Since 2003 he has been working regularly as a substitute in the Radio Orchestra of Berlin (RSB) and occasionally in the Berlin Chamber Orchestra. As of 2005, Sergej holds a regular substitute position in the Berlin Philharmonic and has also played in the Deutsche Symphonie Orchester. In 2006 and 2007 Sergej was invited to perform with members of the Berlin Philharmonic in concerts in Spain and Italy.

   Since 2008 Sergej has played as a concertmaster in several orchestras, including 1st concertmaster at the Norrland’s Opera in Umeå, the Orquestra do Algarve in Portugal as a soloist in Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and 1st concertmaster, the Jönköping Sinfonietta and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow, as well as assistant concertmaster in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm, the Frankfurter Oper, and the symphony orchestras of Gothenburg, Gävle and Norrköping. Sergej also has more than eleven years of broad teaching experience. He has been teaching, during his studies in Berlin, at the Yamaha Musikschule and since 2008 he holds a teaching position at the Nordic Music High School in Stockholm. Additionally, since January 2011 he holds a teaching position at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (Kungl. Musikhögskolan).