ARTISTS
> Soloist Academy > 19-22 Feb.

Born in Porto, Afonso Fesch has developed an intense and versatile performing career as a soloist, chamber musician, and member of various ensembles. Throughout his training, he had the privilege of studying with leading pedagogues. Mentors such as Yossif Grinman, Zofia Wóycicka, Gerardo Ribeiro, Pavel Vernikov, Dora Schwarzberg, Raphaël Oleg, and Ivry Gitlis were essential to his artistic development.

From an early age, Afonso showed a particular interest in chamber music, performing both as a chamber musician and as a soloist alongside artists such as Giuliano Carmignola, Guy Braunstein, Thomas Demenga, Yoel Gamzou, Maxim Emelyanychev, Simon Crawford-Philips, Otto Tausk, Roland Glassl, Diemut Poppen, Pascal Siffert, Miguel Borges Coelho, Anton Kernjak, Raphaël Oleg, and Ivry Gitlis.

Guest solo appearances have been an important part of his career, with performances alongside orchestras such as the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Porto Symphony Orchestra Casa da Música, International Mahler Orchestra, and Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Afonso performs with various contemporary ensembles, having worked directly with musicians such as Jörg Widmann, Harrison Birtwistle, Thomas Demenga, Ilya Gringolts, Thomas Adès, and Heinz Holliger.

Another major aspect of his career has been orchestral work. He served as concertmaster of the International Mahler Orchestra (2008–2015) and of the Ensemble Musique des Lumières (2016–2019), and has frequently been invited as guest concertmaster in numerous ensembles.

Between 2020 and 2024, Afonso was Principal Second Violin of the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen. He now lives in Scotland and recently joined the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh as Principal First Violin.

He performs on two instruments: a modern violin built by Marc Pacquin in 2023, and a Giuseppe Guarneri, circa 1700.