Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Appoints New Principal Second Violin

British violinist Savitri Grier will step into the role

Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France has recently announced that the British violinist Savitri Grier has been appointed as its new Principal Second Violin.

A graduate of the University of Oxford, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Universität der Künste Berlin, Grier's teachers have included David Takeno and Nora Chastain.

Grier was born and raised in London, and is a founding member of the acclaimed British ensemble Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. The group is currently in residence as Associate Artists at the Wigmore Hall, and their 2022 disc of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was critically lauded.

In recent years, she has held principal positions in orchestras across Europe, including in the Budapest Festival Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has also been Guest Leader with the Orchestre de Paris, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Orchestre National d’Île de France.

As soloist, Grier has performed with the Qatar Philharmonic, Concerto Budapest, Royal Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, English Chamber, London Mozart Players, and the Welsh National Opera, among others. In 2019 she completed a residency at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where she performed the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas alongside pianist Richard Uttley.

She is also interested in cross-cultural collaboration in music, and has worked with sarod players Amaan Ali and Ayaan Ali Bangash at The Times Swarsangam Music Festival in Bangalore, India. In addition, Grier has led a British Council chamber project in Qatar, given a series of recitals in China, and worked closely with a youth orchestra in Balanyá, Guatamala.

Image credit: Harrogate International Festivals