Victoria Bernath began her musical studies as a child in Canada and subsequently Belgium where she was encouraged to follow a musical career, following award-winning achievements. At the age of 17, she moved to the U.K. to study a Bachelor’s of music at the University of York, where she studied viola with Alan George of the Fitzwilliam String Quartet and composition with Dr. Roger Marsh and Dr. Thomas Simaku. In York, Victoria won the 2009 University of York Concerto Competition. Graduating with first class honors, Victoria moved to London to study a Master’s in Music at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire with Rivka Golani, on scholarship. During this time, she established the Meridian String Trio (now the Meridian Ensemble) along with three fellow students at the college (Akiko Ishikawa-violin and Wei Tsen Lin-cello, est. 2009). Currently managed by Sternberg and Clarke, the ensemble has enjoyed performances at many of London’s finest venues (such as the Southbank Center and Wigmore Hall), and are the first prize winners of the 2011 Cavatina Chamber Music Competition. Following her Master’s degree, Victoria was invited to stay on at Trinity and to study a funded fellowship of viola performance. She achieved her Fellowship in 2011 with distinction and, eager to continue her passion for both research and performance, began a PhD at the University of York with performance supplementation from Professor Yuko Inoue at the Royal Academy of Music in London and, Paul Barritt (former concertmaster of the Hallé Symphony Orchestra). To date, Victoria has participated in masterclasses with Roger Chase, Christine Vlajk, Alexander Zemtsov, Lawrence Power, and the Danish String Quartet. She has also co-directed and written works for music theatre including a musical adaption of the famous Canadian ballad ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee’. Victoria is the recipient of many awards including the 2012-2013 Terry Holmes Performer/Composer Award and the 2012-2014 Sir Jack Lyons Research Scholarship. She currently holds the position of viola teacher at the University of York: https://www.york.ac.uk/music/staff/instrumental/victoria-bernath/ Victoria performs frequently as part of the Meridian Duo, a viola-piano ensemble, with pianist Ashley Beauchamp. She performs on a 1917 Azzoli viola.