Dunja Lavrova

Part 1: 

Narrated performance of Dunja’s latest show, “Professional Immigrant”, with an accompaniment of a jazz rhythm section - drums, bass and piano (this can possibly be performed with college students). 

A programme which includes various musical styles: classical, jazz, tango, Klezmer and Rock. Dunja narrates this performance with the stories from her life as a versatile musician.

Part 2:

Talk about the importance of being a versatile, flexible and creative musician in today’s world. Dunja talks about varied performance styles and demonstrates how she often has to adjust her classical skills to extend her workload across different genres. She also talks about the importance of creativity and how to use some unusual skills to your advantage.

Part 3:

Masterclass with students (this can be individuals or groups and, depending on the level of the students, can be any instrument).

Background information:

Russian-British violinist, Dunja Lavrova, began her musical studies in St. Petersburg. By the age of 11 she had already won numerous competitions and toured as a prodigious young violinist. Soon after, Dunja went on to win a full scholarship at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in Great Britain and moved there permanently, leaving the rest of her family behind. 

Over the last two decades in the UK, Dunja has become a household name, winning numerous awards (most notably the Tagore Gold Medal, presented to her by HRH Prince Charles upon her graduation from Royal College of Music), recording her highly-acclaimed debut solo album and touring the world.

Dunja is an extremely versatile musician and a true artist. 

As a classical musician she has performed both as a soloist and a leader with various renowned symphony orchestras, including the Royal Opera House and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra amongst many others.

As a chamber musician, Dunja performed with numerous respectable musicians, appearing on television, radio and various renowned concert platforms all around the world. She is the leader and director of Ensemble Metamusika, a transforming chamber music ensemble (where Principal Horn of MSO Nicolas Fleury is also a member), with which she has performed for HRH Prince Charles. 

On a more popular music spectrum, Dunja has performed and recorded extensively with such artists as Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett, Seth MacFarlane, Hugh Jackman, Tina May, Liane Carroll, Cliff Richard and Il Divo, amongst many others.

Whilst in UK, she was the leader of London Symphonic Rock Orchestra, touring the world’s stadiums with pop and rock tribute bands, during which she appeared as a soloist alongside the original saxophonist of Abba - Ulf Andersson.

She was also a member of the 1st violin section of the critically-acclaimed John Wilson Orchestra (performing classic Hollywood repertoire) for the past 7 years and led the strings with various renowned Big Bands. Between 2017 and 2018 Dunja performed regularly for West End’s production of “The Book of Mormon”.

Dunja’s own musical projects are highly creative and eclectic. They range from her authentically- recorded debut classical album and her vintage-themed, narrated performances through to the electrifying videos on her YouTube channel, a spellbinding Jazz Fusion show and her surprising arrangements of Rock anthems for strings.

In April 2019 Dunja migrated once again, this time to Australia where she now continues her deeply artistic life as a very unique kind of violinist.

In the short period of living in Australia, Dunja is already establishing herself as a sought-after musician. 

Since April 2019, she has Co-led the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, led the strings alongside Kate Ceberano and Craig Schneider Big Band, performed with various orchestras (including Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra), has given numerous masterclasses and chamber music recitals and launched her classical/ jazz fusion project, “Dunja Lavrova and The Hot Three” at various venues across Melbourne.

Most recently Dunja began arranging scores for Showtime Australia’s production “The Greatest Love of All - a tribute to Whitney Houston” and went on UK tour with them, leading and directing the band from the Principal Violin chair.

Dunja is passionate about education and believes that every child and young adult should have access to music lessons and creative arts in all their diversity. 

She is very keen to share her diverse experience in the music business with the new generations.