Violinist
Ayla Şahin
Born in Brighton, UK, German-Turkish violinist Ayla Şahinis active as a soloist, chamber musician, and artistic director across Europe and beyond. She is a prize winner of numerous national and international competitions, most recently winning Switzerland’s Kiefer Hablitzel|Göhner Musikpreis 2026, 1st Prize and the Beethoven Prize at the2025 Schoenfeld International String Competition, and 1st Prize at the 72nd Royal Overseas League Competition(2024) with Trio Archai. A sought-after performer, Ayla has appeared at major international venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, Heidelberger Frühling, Tivoli Vredenburg, Kings Place, Stadtcasino Basel, St George’s Bristol, Yellow Barn,O/Modernt Winter Festival, Swiss Chamber Music, Schaffhausen Klassik, Schiermonnikoog, NUME, and the Dresdner Musikfestspiele. She has collaborated with artists such as Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Nicolas Alstaedt, Alena Baeva, Timothy Ridout, and Claudio Martinez-Mehner. Driven by a belief that classical music should speak to contemporary audiences, Ayla is the co-founder and artistic director of VOLTA Kammermusikfest, an annual international chamber music festival in Basel. Through imaginative programming and an unconventional performance space, the festival creates intimate encounters between artists and audiences. At the age of fourteen, she was admitted as a full scholarship Junior Student to the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she went on to complete her Bachelor’s degree under Jack Liebeck in 2021 with the highest distinction (First-Class Honours). In 2024, she completed her Master’s degree at the Musik-Akademie Basel under Rainer Schmidt and Zoltán Fejérvári, and after graduating with the highest possible marks, she was awarded the Brambilla Prize for the most outstanding Master’s violin recital at the Musik-Akademie Basel.