Prima Strings

Violin I Katarzyna Zimińska started playing the violin at the age of seven and graduated with distinction from the class of Jerzy Hazuka at the Nowowiejski Music School in Gdansk, Poland in 2009. She has participated in many national and international competitions winning several prizes and distinctions. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Poland, Italy, Austria, France, Russia and the UK in concert halls including the Polish Baltic Philharmony, Polish Baltic Opera House, Philharmony in Łódź, Polish Radio Witold Lutosławski Concert Hall in Warsaw, Musikverein in Vienna, Mozarteum in Salzburg, UNESCO Concert Hall in Paris and all major concert venues in London. Katarzyna has performed as a soloist with orchestras including Cappella Gedanensis and Camerata Baltica. She is a scholar of the J&S Pro Bono Poloniae Foundation's program The Open Musical Safety Pin Philharmonic 2004-09. In 2010 she received an invitation to play for the legendary Japanese violinist, Midori Goto and in 2012 she played in a masterclass with maestro Maxim Vengerov. Other master classes include artists such as Alasdair Tait, Krzesimir Dębski, Krzysztof Jakowicz, Adam Klocek, Jan Stanienda, Krzysztof Śmietana, David Dolan, Valentina Yakubovskaya, David Takeno, Rachel Podger, Mari-Tempere Bezrodny, Caroline Palmer, Maria Radicheva, Endellion String Quartet, Allegri String Quartet and Chilingrian Quartet. Besides solo activities she has worked as a part of London Symphony Orchestra within their Discovery projects, also as a chamber musician she works regularly with the Belcea String Quartet. Her most recent awards include the Ivan Sutton Chamber Music Prize (2012). She has graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama studying violin with Stephanie Gonley of the English Chamber Orchestra and viola with Krzysztof Chorzelski, the violist of the Belcea Quartet. Violin II Jaga Klimaszewska was born in Gdansk, Poland in 1990. She graduated from the Nowowiejski Music High School in Gdansk in 2009 and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she completed her Bachelors degree under Krzysztof Śmietana. Jaga is in her last year of the Masters in Performance course at the Royal College of Music with Maciej Rakowski. She has taken part in Workshops and Music Festivals in Europe. Joanna performed as a soloist and as a chamber musician in France (Paris – UNESCO hall), Austria (Vienna – Musikverein, Salzburg – Mozarteum) , Germany (Bremen) , Russia (Moscow). She performed as a soloist with Cappella Gedanensis and Camerata Baltica. Joanna worked with many well known artist including Maxim Vengerov, Belcea Quartet, David Takeno, Carole Presland, The Gould Piano Trio, Heath Quartet, Jan Stanienda. In 2007 together with her violin quartet she won 2nd prize and a special prize for the best interpretation of Grażyna Bacewicz piece at the XI National Chamber Music Competition in Łódź, Poland. She holds the RCM Award and The G.D. Fahrenheit Educational Scholarship awarded by the President of Gdansk. Jaga plays on a violin by Antonio Pedrinelli, 1835 and gratefully acknowledges its loan from the Royal College of Music, London. Viola Eva Nikolova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria where she graduated from the "National School of Music" in 2009 with principal study viola. During her early music education Eva took part in masterclasses with Prof. Iuri Iurov (Russia) after which she was awarded a scholarship associated with Vladimir Spivakov Charity Foundation in 2007, Avri Levian (Israel), Prof. Wolfgang Klos (Austria), Prof. Mincho Minchev (Bulgaria) . In 2012 Eva was awarded a full scholarship to participate in The Orpheus Academy in Vienna where she had lessons with Prof. Michael Frischenschlager, Prof. Mario Hossen. and others. Eva has been awarded for many national and international competitions in Bulgaria in both solo performance as well as a part of chamber music ensembles. In 2007 she was employed by New Symphony Orchestra- Sofia. In 2008 Eva won an award to play a recital in Luxemburg to represent Bulgaria's talents after joining the European Union in 2007. From 2009 to 2015 Eva studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Rachel Roberts and Ofer Falk, having coachings with members of Belcea Quartet, Heath Quartet, Chilingirian Quartet, Endellion Quartet amongst others. The Leverhulme Arts Scholarship, John Yearley Trust and the GSMD supported Eva during her studies in London. Eva often performs in venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan Hall, The Globe and Barbican. In 2011 Eva joined Les Orpheistes Chamber Orchestra based in Vienna and since 2012 is performing regularly with them in Europe. In April 2013 she performed in the UK tour of Alfie Boe, playing in the most prestigious venues across the UK. Cello Paulina began her music career with piano lessons at the age of five. In 1998 she passed an audition to the Piotr Swierc Music School in Poland where she took up the cello. In 2003 she was invited to a student exchange in Musikhochschule in Köln, Germany. She continued her studies at the Purcell School of Music in London with a full scholarship from the Music and Dance scheme. In November 2005 she was awarded the title of The Young Musician of The Year in Hertfordshire, England. Throughout her studies Paulina had won a number of competitions in Poland and UK, including a Wigmore Hall chamber music competition two years in a row in 2008 and 2009. In January 2007 Paulina took part in a Maggini Quartet Chamber Music Course. She also attended Cadenza Music Course and Tata International Music Course in Hungary, where she performed in churches and the Tata Castle as a chamber musician. Paulina is now a graduate of The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. As a freelance cellist Paulina is passionate about music for film. She actively performs in TV commercials, films and studio recordings. Her most recent experiences include a TV commercial for Sainsbury's with director Ringan Ledwidge from Rattling Stick, with live music to film at a Promax event held at BFI London, a PC advert with Raphael Ravenscroft, a Carling commercial for BBC with composer Ross Power, films such as Cinderella (Disney), Sorapol with Stephen Fry, Il Maestro, Act/Or, The Celebration with David Cohen and studio recordings at Sleeper Sound Studios with producer Guy Chambers. Paulina also performs as a freelance solo, chamber and orchestral musician. Her most significant performances include a three chamber music concerts at Wigmore Hall, a solo concert at Royal Festival Hall and orchestra concerts at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan Hall and The Windsor Castle with Valery Gergiev, Simon Rattle, Gianandrea Noseda and John Rutter. She performed with The London Symphony Orchestra, Light of Music Symphony Orchestra, London Soloists, Orpheus Sinfonia, Melos Sinfonia and is now a member of The London Arte Chamber Orchestra with whom she travelled on tour in China in the years 2014 & 2015. Paulina is also a member of a chamber group called Prima Strings, with whom she actively performs in high class events such as corporate business and private parties, weddings, cruise ships and dinner shows all around UK and Europe. Her most recent performances include a performance in Montpellier, France with the collective Hight on Heels and a dinner show called “The Bright Nights” in Mallorca, Spain. Paulina currently manages a collective group of musicians to deliver high - class performances for a music agency named Earcandy. Apart from the cello Paulina is very passionate about playing the Gheychak. At the beginning of 2016 she performed her first set of Persian music with The Light of Music Symphony Orchestra in Cadogan Hall. In May 2016 she performed with The Sornai Ensemble in a Persian concert held at the Ismaili Centre in London. She has also composed a film music score called “Connection Road” for solo Gheychak and string orchestra. Paulina is also a keen music producer, songwriter and lyricist. She has written and recorded with producer Guy Chambers, with whom she performed on numerous occasions at his monthly music shows in London, as well as assisting him in recording and music production in Sleeper Sound Studios. In the past Paulina also recorded at Tonmeister Studios and assisted the producer Tom Gibson with music production there. In 2015 she won a songwriting competition at SoundShoots and collaborated with DJ and Producer Refracture, followed by a release of the winning track through his record label, Perfecto Records. She is now writing her first Album. She has been writing and producing her own music in a home built studio for a number of years. Between 2013 - 2015 Paulina had taught the cello at the Tippet Music Centre, six primary schools as a member of The Lambeth Music Service, London Russian Music School, London Arts Academy as well as teaching film music every year since 2010 at The Purcell School of Music as part of Sound and Music Summer School. Paulina continues to teach cello, film music, piano and music theory privately.