Vineta Sareika-Volkner appointed as First female concertmaster by the Berlin Philharmonic

Vineta Sareika-Völkner of Latvia has been named the first concertmaster by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

Vineta, who has been playing in the first violins since May 2022, is the first woman to occupy the role of concertmaster with the orchestra in its 141-year existence. She now leads the section. She expressed her gratitude and happiness on social media.

Vineta studied with Gérard Poulet at the Paris National Conservatory and Augustin Dumay at the Belgian Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. In addition, she studied under Ida Haendel, Ivry Gitlis, Zakhar Bron, Mauricio Fuks, and Sergej Krylov in master courses.

The violinist began her musical career as a soloist as well as a chamber and orchestra player after finishing her schooling. From 2011 and 2013, she served as the Royal Flemish Philharmonic's first concertmaster. 

She also frequently served as a guest concertmaster with the Royal Opera Orchestra and the Brussels Philharmonic in Brussels. She was a part of the Artemis Quartet from 2012 to 2021, and she has been a member of the Berlin Philharmonic since May 2022.

She has performed with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra, and the Belgian National Orchestra as a soloist. She has won several awards in international competitions, culminating as laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition. 

Since 2017, Vineta has taught chamber music at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium and the Berlin University of the Arts.