Photo: Benjamin Harte
Callum Smart
Representation: General Management
Callum Smart came to wide public attention when at the age of thirteen he won the string section of the 2010 BBC Young Musicians Competition and was subsequently selected as one of three concerto finalists. In the finals he performed Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Vasily Petrenko at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff broadcast on BBC 2 and Radio 3.
Callum began his violin studies at the age of six and was a pupil at the Royal Junior College of Music, London. At the age of nine he entered the Yehudi Menuhin School where he was a student of Maciej Rakowski and for the last four years has continued his studies with him at Chetham’s School of Music. His concerto work has included appearances as soloist with the Chetham’s String Orchestra, the Charnwood, Liverpool Mozart, Nottingham Philharmonic, Wimbledon and Warwickshire Symphony Orchestras. He has given numerous recitals around the UK including the International Lake District Summer Music Festival and Leeds International Concert Series.
In April 2010 he was a prize-winner in the Menuhin Competition in Oslo, where as a finalist he performed Ravel’s Tzigane which was broadcast via the EBU throughout Europe. During that year, he gave a series of recitals with Gordon Back including a concert at the Cheltenham Festival and appearances as concerto soloist at Cadogan Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London with the National Children’s Orchestra. In December Callum returned to Cardiff to perform the Glazunov Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Grant Llewellyn, broadcast live by BBC Radio 3. He also performed with the orchestra as a soloist in their series of Christmas concerts around Wales. The 2010/11 season culminated with his debut recital at the Mecklenburg Vorpommern Festival in Germany.
Highlights this season include concerto performances of Dvorak with the De Havilland Philharmonic, Mendelssohn with the Bath Philharmonia, Mozart K.219 with the European Union Chamber Orchestra and Tchaikovsky with the Chester Philharmonic, Liverpool Mozart and Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestras. He appears in recital at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad and the Lamberhurst Music Festivals, and also in Leeds and Newport.
Callum plays on a c.1730-35 violin by Carlo Bergonzi.
Promoters please note: if you wish to include this biography in a concert programme etc, please contact Hazard Chase to ensure you have the most up to date version.
Email: Kayleigh McGowan
