Esther is a violinist from Marseille who has just finished touring with the phenomenal singer, Katherine Jenkins. She's just signed under Sony Classical and has just released her self titled debut album this month. 

We got talk to Esther about her new album, her time with Katherine and becoming a TikTok star!

Hi Esther! Thanks so much for talking to ReVamp, what was your earliest memory of music? 

When I was 3 years old, my grandmother showed me a violin for the first time. It was her own tiny violin from when she was young.

When did you realise you wanted to venture into classical music?

During my first violin lesson. Even though my grandmother showed me a violin when I was 3, my parents waited until I myself expressed a real interest in taking lessons. That happened when I was 9 years old and during my first lesson, it was love at first sight.

I fell in love with the feeling of the violin touching my neck, as if the music was going from my voice and getting transmitted through the violin. From that moment on I decided I wanted to become a violinist and share music with people around the world for the rest of my life.

Who would you cite as your inspirations?

My mother, she is one of the strongest women I know and has been a constant source of inspiration for me. She has taught me to never give up and always look at life with an open mind. 

Music wise, the violinist Yehudi Menuhin is one of my greatest inspiration. I admire his openness and courage to have gone out of his comfort zone to play other styles of music, and to have been a real trail blazer in music education being the first to create video tutorials on how to play the violin over 25 years before Youtube even existed! 

You were picked up on TikTok after playing the violin to your cat, what was your reaction when this happened? 

It is always a nice surprise to wake up to thousands and thousands of views and lovely comments! I was also very happy, thanks to this, to be able to raise some funds for the cat shelter where I volunteer. 

You have just finished touring with Katherine Jenkins, what was your favourite memory of the tour? 

I loved it all so hard to pick just one! I think the moments on stage, playing and speaking to the audience, feeling the pleasure of having a live audience again, that was special! Also made some great memories on the tour bus!  

You have become a role model for women in classical music, how does this make you feel knowing you are making an impact on women on the subject of classical music? 

I feel very grateful to be able to be in that position, but it also comes with some responsibility and pressure. I try my best to show the real human side of me, sharing videos practicing, making mistakes, not hiding when I fail something but show that it is all part of the journey. I also try to speak about subjects that matter to me and amplify the voice of other great women in the music industry. 

You're new album was released on March 25th, how did you prepare yourself for the release of this? 

I was so excited and at the same time I was kind of scared! It is my very first album and a real dream come true. I am trying to enjoy every moment of it! 

How do you know which songs to put on an album and know when the album is finished to your standard?

It takes a lot of time and thought to decide what goes on the album, you usually also have to make choices as you sometimes end up with too many ideas! 

For this first album I wanted to record different types of works to share all my different musical sides. It can be hard in a recording studio to actually think ‘okay we’ve got it, let’s stop there’ as you tend to always want to do one more take again. Funnily enough, sometimes the very first take ends up being the one you go for in the end!

What is next up for you in 2022? 

My Royal Albert Hall solo debut on the 11th of April for Classic FM live!