Press Release

New 1st Concertmaster: Vineta Sareika-Völkner wins audition
 

Vineta Sareika-Völkner has won the audition for the position of 1st concertmaster with the Berliner Philharmoniker. The musician from the 1st violin section is the first woman to hold this position in the orchestra’s history. Our heartfelt warmest congratulations!
Vineta Sareika-Völkner, born in Jūrmala, Latvia, comes from an artistic family and began playing the violin at the age of five. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire National under Gérard Poulet and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium under Augustin Dumay. Vineta Sareika-Völkner also attended master classes held by Ida Haendel, Ivry Gitlis, Zakhar Bron, Mauricio Fuks and Sergej Krylov.
After her training, the violinist began her career as a soloist and chamber and orchestral musician. She was 1st concertmaster with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic (2011-2013) and regularly guest concertmaster with the orchestra of the Brussels Royal Opera and the Brussels Philharmonic. She was primaria of the Artemis Quartet from 2012 to 2021, and has been a member of the Berliner Philharmoniker since May 2022. As a soloist, the multi-award winner at international competitions has performed with the London Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra and the Belgian National Orchestra, among others. Vineta Sareika-Völkner has also been professor of chamber music at Berlin University of the Arts since 2017.