Lara Tamcan

Born in Istanbul in 2013, Lara fell in love with the violin at the age of five in Ukraine, where she took her very first steps as a musician under the watchful eye of Valentyna Stetsyuk. Today she studies at the Gymnázium a Hudební škola hl. m. Prahy in Prague under the leadership of Prof. Jakub Fišer, and travels to Düsseldorf to attend classes with renowned Misha Nodelman. What began as a childhood passion has blossomed into something remarkable. Behind every achievement lies something simple and genuine: a young musician who truly loves to play.

That love has taken her far. Lara claimed 1st prize at the Mládí a Bohuslav Martinů State Violin Competition in 2023, and the following year won the national finals of the Czech Competition of Primary Music Schools as the absolute winner, receiving her award from the hands of celebrated violin virtuoso Pavel Šporcl. She went on to claim 1st prize at the Josef Micka International Violin Competition in both 2025 and 2026. The concert stage has become just as natural a home for her as the practice room. She has performed as a soloist at the Festival Otakar Ševčík closing concert and the Horažďovice Festival, and had the honor of serving as concertmaster of the junior orchestra under the baton of Jakub Hrůša at the 2025 Ševčík Academy. In 2024, she stood on the stage of the Konzerthaus Berlin as part of the prestigious Young Euro Classic Festival with the Ševčík Junior Orchestra. Critics took note too, celebrating her fiery performance of Wieniawski's Obertass Mazurka at the nationally televised ZUŠ Open gala concert in May 2025. Most recently, she performed at the Mladé talenty Josefu Sukovi concert in March 2026 at the beautiful Průhonice Castle, as part of the Zámecká hudební setkání festival. After her exceptional performance at the Kocianovo International Violin Competition, she was invited to perform at the Smetanova Litomyšl festival in June 2026, playing Sarasate's Caprice Basque and Kroll's Banjo & Fiddle live on Český rozhlas Pardubice. She has also been accepted to the Václav Hudeček Academy, one of the Czech Republic's most prestigious violin academies, as the youngest of 18 selected participants in its 30th anniversary edition, where she will study individually with legendary Czech violin virtuoso Václav Hudeček and renowned pedagogue Jiří Fišer.

But Lara's world extends well beyond the violin. She also plays piano and pipe organ, studying organ with MgA. Linda Sítková, Ph.D., and brings that same musical curiosity to her work as a member of the chamber trio Vaňhalovo Trio, under the coordination of Prof. Jitka Vlašánková. She speaks five languages fluently, a reflection, perhaps, of a young person who has always been drawn to connection, whether through music or words. Lara plays on a violin crafted by Otakar F. Špidlen. Her previous bow was made by the legendary French bowmaker Louis Morizot, and she now performs with a custom bow crafted especially for her by Petr Auředník.