vn, CH
Musician of Classical
Classical violist Born in Switzerland, Australian violinist/violist Imants Larsens began playing the violin at the age of three in Adelaide, studying first with his grandmother Alita Larsens, then with Keith Crellin. He continued his studies at the Musikhochschule Zentralschweiz in Lucerne under the guidance of his father Gunars Larsens, graduating with Lehrdiplom and Konzertreifediplom degrees with distinction. Whilst in Europe Imants participated actively in master-classes with renowned musicians, including Pinchas Zukerman and the Vermeer Quartet. Imants has won numerous awards and prizes in competitions both in Australia and overseas. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras in France, Switzerland and Australia and has appeared in numerous international festvals. Imants was concertmaster for national and South East Asia tours of Don Giovanni with CoOpera and also toured Europe with the Australian Youth Orchestra and was concertmaster when the AYO performed with the Cat Empire. He has since tutored the AYO viola section. Imants holds the position of Associate Principal viola of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra with whom he has also appeared as soloist. In 2012 he was guest Assistant Principal with the Sydney Symphony. He performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician on both violin and viola, collaborating with artists such as Natsuko Yoshimoto, Timothy Young, Emma-Jane Murphy, David Pereira, Juerg Daeler and the Australian String Quartet.