Caterina Bordoni
Caterina is an accomplished violinist with extensive orchestral experience across the UK and Europe. She has performed with leading ensembles including the BBC Philharmonic, The Hallé, Opera North, Manchester Camerata, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, among others. She leads in the second violin section for orchestras such as New Sinfonia, Manchester Film Orchestra, and the City of Stoke-on-Trent Symphony Orchestra. She also lead RNCM Symphony Orchestra, Monferrato Classic Orchestra and many others.
She has collaborated under the baton of esteemed conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Riccardo Muti, Gábor Takács-Nagy, Martyn Brabbins, Donato Renzetti, Enrico Onofri, and Domingo Hindoyan, among many others.
She completed a Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction (94%) and a Master’s in Music Performance at the Royal Northern College of Music with a full scholarship for her studies, studying with Callum Smart, Pavel Fischer, and Yair Kless. Her earlier studies include a Bachelor’s Degree from G. Lettimi Conservatoire and advanced training at the Santa Cecilia and Bruno Maderna Academies in Italy.
She recently performed at the Wigmore Hall with the Hera Piano Trio and she is a prize-winner at the Zanuccoli and Mariánské Lázně competitions, she has performed as soloist with the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra and has been mentored by artists such as Augustin Hadelich, Ning Feng and James Eens.
She has been playing on a violin Nicoloʻ Gagliano 1775.
What are you most looking forward to on the scheme?
“It’s not that people don’t like classical music. It’s that they don’t have the chance to understand and to experience it.” – Gustavo Dudamel
I feel that this quote by Gustavo Dudamel truly captures my feelings about the fellowship at this moment. I am extremely excited for the opportunity to share music with everyone – especially with those who will benefit most from its impact.
Having the chance to shape someone’s journey through something you love is one of the most powerful languages we can use to speak directly to the soul.
This is what excites me most about the fellowship: the opportunity to work in direct connection with our communities and, together, keep music alive.
What music have you been listening to recently that you’d recommend?
I have been listening a lot to Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht as I had to play it twice this summer.
This piece really impressed me. At first, its complexity was intimidating, but the more I immersed myself in it, the more I came to realize how powerful and beautiful it truly is.
Whether heard in its original string sextet form or the later string orchestra version, the work is a technical and expressive tour de force. Schoenberg weaves complex textures, dialogues, and emotional turns in the ensemble with stunning skill.
Inspired by Dehmel’s poem (about a woman confessing to her lover that she bears another man’s child, and his ultimate acceptance), Verklärte Nacht uses music to explore forgiveness, transformation, and love — with zero vocals. Everything is conveyed through music alone, in a dramatic arc. Musicians and listeners alike can appreciate the rich interplay of voices and the tension between intimacy and grandeur.
It’s a piece that can really blow your mind away once you know its intriguing details.
