SAMUEL NEMTANU (LUCA School of Arts, Leuven Lemmens Institute, Belgium)
25 and 26 November @10.00-14.30 in D-409
Samuel Nemtanu is a French violinist known for his expressive playing and versatile artistic career, spanning classical repertoire, contemporary music, and electronic experimentation. Born in Bordeaux into a musical family, he began studying the violin at the age of three.
Nemtanu studied with Boris Garlitsky at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and with Shmuel Ashkenasi at Roosevelt University in Chicago. He is a First Prize winner of the Henri Koch International Competition in Liège and has further developed his artistry under the guidance of musicians such as Augustin Dumay, Dora Schwarzberg, Ivry Gitlis, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Hagai Shaham, Haim Taub, and David Grimal.
A passionate advocate of contemporary music, Nemtanu has collaborated with composers including Annelies Van Parys, Aftab Darvishi, Calliope Tsoupaki, and Daan Janssens. His solo programme The Fifth String explores works for violin and electronics by living composers. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Brussels Philharmonic, performing Anna Clyne’s The Prince of Clouds under Jun Märkl and premiering Daan Janssens’ concerto for violin, electronics, and orchestra under Ilan Volkov.
Nemtanu has performed at renowned venues including the Philharmonie de Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall, and Flagey in Brussels. An active chamber musician, he is a co-founder of the Brussels-based Carousel Chamber Music Ensemble.
He is Principal Second Violin of the Brussels Philharmonic and a former member of the conductorless ensemble Les Dissonances. He has also performed with orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Belgian National Orchestra.
Alongside his performing career, Nemtanu is Professor of Violin at LUCA School of Arts in Leuven. Since 2019, he has coached young violinists with Youth Orchestra Flanders and regularly teaches at the Carousel Chamber Music masterclasses in Kortrijk.