Biography
Praised for her ‘ravishingly poetic playing’(BBC Music Magazine) and “Enchanting musical personality” (De Volkskrant), Dutch violinist Tosca Opdam has captivated audiences and critics alike with her luminously elegant performances and “gift for storytelling that surpasses mere virtuosity” (Schaffhausen Zeitung).
Tosca Opdam first made headlines when she won the prestigious Oskar Back Violin Competition at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam which lead to many engagements as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician including sold out solo recitals at the Concertgebouw and Carnegie Hall.
Performances have taken her all over Europe, the US, South America, Canada and Asia. As a soloist, Tosca has collaborated with orchestras like the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz and has worked with conductors such as Marc Albrecht, Annedore Neufeld, Matthew Rowe, Clark Rundell.
Her performance as part of the Liberation Day Concert on the Amstel River, with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima in attendance, was broadcast live on Dutch national television. Other broadcast performances include broadcasts on NPO Radio 4, WQXR (New York), Podium Witteman TV (Netherlands), NDR Germany, RaiRadio3 Italy and others.
In February 2022 she released her debut album, Soundscapes (Challenge Classics) to critical acclaim. The Parool noted the album as a “journey of discovery’‘Opdam and Ullman play with love and understanding.”
More critical acclaim followed for her recordings of the violin concerto by Robin de Raaff with the NedPho and Marc Albrecht in amongst others the Diapason Magazine (France)and for the recording of the violin concerto by US composer Todd Mason, which featured an extensive article in The Strad and noted in ‘Pizzicato’:Dutch soloist Tosca Opdam excels in her technical mastery of this music in a way that vividly shapes the lively and driving nature of the work.”
An avid chamber musician and recitalist, Tosca has appeared at the Grachtenfestival (Amsterdam), the Delft Chamber Music Festival, the Storioni Festival, the João Pessoa International Music Festival, Brazil,the Siletz Bay Music Festival (Oregon) and the Hong Kong Generation Next Music Festival.
As an outgrowth of her wider interests, Ms. Opdam often designs programs that connect music to visual arts, dance or other art forms. Collaborating performances include the New York City Ballet and the New York Choreographic Institute at Lincoln Center and the Dutch National Ballet. In 2020, she founded the online concert series “Miniatures inspired by visual arts and music” (www.miniatures-music-arts.com), combining music and visual arts in close collaboration with museums such as the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Mauritshuis in Den Haag. The‘Miniatures’ have reached an audience of over a million viewers.
Tosca earned her masters of music degree from The Juilliard School. Her teachers have included Catherine Cho, Patty Kopec and Sylvia Rosenberg. She plays a rare Matteo Goffriller violin from 1700, Italy, which is generously on loan to her by a private collector and a Nikolai Kittel bow on loan from the NMF Foundation.
The 2024/25 season includes a solo performance at Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium with ‘Jonge Strijkers’ Netherlands, as well as an NY performance of the F.Martin violin concerto with the NYRO orchestra and recitals in the US and Europe including at the Arte Amanti festival Belgium and the Syros International Music Festival in Greece.An exciting upcoming music/visual arts collaboration is with artist Claudy Jongstra, with whom she will tour through the US and Europe.
