The Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti has become very well-known in the classical music field.
She signed on to the prestigious Deutsche Grammophon classical label, she has appeared with top symphony orchestras in Britain and other countries, playing well-established concertos for violin and orchestra.
Nicola Benedetti, casually known as Nicky, was born in July of 1987 in the small town of West Kilbride in the Ayrshire district of southwestern Scotland. Her name was Italian because her father, Giovanni Benedetti, was an Italian immigrant to the UK. He prospered in the pharmaceutical industry by manufacturing plastic cases for first-aid kits, and his two daughters, Stephanie and Nicola, were sent to Ayrshire’s Wellington private school.
Although neither Giovanni Benedetti nor Nicola’s mother, Francesca, had any musical leanings at all, the two girls were both strongly attracted to the violin at school. Nicola got her start on the violin when she came along with eight-year-old Stephanie to a lesson.
Here is Ms. Benedetti in a performance of the Violin Concerto #2 by Sergei Prokofiev:
