Biography
British violist Rosalind Ventris earns recognition in equal measure for her solo appearances, her chamber-music partnerships, and her teaching. Her programming choices regularly emphasize works by women composers, contemporary scores, and historically informed approaches to music from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Born near 1989 into a household filled with music, Ventris absorbed early impressions from her mother, an amateur violinist who pursued lessons and hosted chamber-music sessions at home. She began with the violin, took up the viola at age eight, and quickly gravitated toward the larger instrument, initially using a violin converted with viola strings. At ten she entered the Purcell School of Music. In 2006, at seventeen, she competed in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and received the award for the most promising British participant. She read music at Cambridge University before continuing her training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under violinist David Takeno.
Ventris maintains a wide-ranging schedule of concerto engagements, recitals, and ensemble performances. As a concerto soloist she has appeared with the London Mozart Players, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, and the Belgian National Orchestra, among other ensembles. Her recital engagements have included the Purcell Room and Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Beethovenhaus in Bonn. For several years she belonged to the Albion Quartet, contributing to recordings of Dvořák string quartets that adopted performance conventions of the composer’s era. Additional chamber-music partners have included violist Tabea Zimmermann, pianists Mitsuko Uchida and John O’Conor, and the Endellion Quartet. In 2017 she featured on the album Quickening: Songs by Robert Hugill. Festival appearances have taken her to West Cork, Marlboro, and Salzburg. Her first solo recording, Sola: Music for Viola by Women Composers, appeared on the Delphian label in 2023. She holds the post of Director of Musical Performance and Performance Studies at Oxford University and serves as professor of viola at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, while also acting as artistic director of the Cowbridge Music Festival in Wales.
Born near 1989 into a household filled with music, Ventris absorbed early impressions from her mother, an amateur violinist who pursued lessons and hosted chamber-music sessions at home. She began with the violin, took up the viola at age eight, and quickly gravitated toward the larger instrument, initially using a violin converted with viola strings. At ten she entered the Purcell School of Music. In 2006, at seventeen, she competed in the Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and received the award for the most promising British participant. She read music at Cambridge University before continuing her training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under violinist David Takeno.
Ventris maintains a wide-ranging schedule of concerto engagements, recitals, and ensemble performances. As a concerto soloist she has appeared with the London Mozart Players, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, and the Belgian National Orchestra, among other ensembles. Her recital engagements have included the Purcell Room and Wigmore Hall in London, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Beethovenhaus in Bonn. For several years she belonged to the Albion Quartet, contributing to recordings of Dvořák string quartets that adopted performance conventions of the composer’s era. Additional chamber-music partners have included violist Tabea Zimmermann, pianists Mitsuko Uchida and John O’Conor, and the Endellion Quartet. In 2017 she featured on the album Quickening: Songs by Robert Hugill. Festival appearances have taken her to West Cork, Marlboro, and Salzburg. Her first solo recording, Sola: Music for Viola by Women Composers, appeared on the Delphian label in 2023. She holds the post of Director of Musical Performance and Performance Studies at Oxford University and serves as professor of viola at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, while also acting as artistic director of the Cowbridge Music Festival in Wales.
Albums
Singles
