Latvian cellist Silvestrs Kalnins is a winner of many national and international competitions. He began playing the cello at the age of five and currently studies at the Royal College of Music in London under Professor Melissa Phelps as an ABRSM Scholar.

 

Silvestrs was awarded 1st prize in 2014 in the Karl Davidov International Cello Competition in Kuldiga. In 2016 he won 1st prize in the competition for young performers organized by the Inese Galante Foundation and in 2018 he was awarded a scholarship by Raphael Sommer Trust.

 

He has had masterclasses with Frans Helmerson, Torleif Thedeen, Zuill Bailey, Marko Ylonen, Sennu Laine, Denis Severin amongst others.

 

As well as his love for solo performing, he is a very passionate and experienced chamber and orchestral musician, having performed with various artists including Thomas Carroll, Marta Gulyas, Arisa Fujita, Nobuko Imai, Avri Levitan, Hansjorg Schellenberger, Cecilia Zilliacus and was a member of the prize winning Artha String Quartet.

 

He has performed at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus and has been invited to perform in the Chipping Campden, Maiastra and Musethica Chamber Music Festivals. In 2019 he was invited to perform at the Clarence House for HRH The Prince of Wales.

 

Since 2018, he has been a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, where he has worked with the conductors such as Manfred Honeck, Stéphane Denève, Gianandrea Noseda and Vasily Petrenko. 

 

Silvestrs plays on a cello made by Matteo Goffriller, kindly loaned by the RCM.