barbara toth
Barbara Toth, born on 16 March 1996 in Mako, a small town in Hungary. Her family had no musical ancestors, but her interest in music was evident from a very young age.
At the age of seven she started taking violin lessons from Anita Bíró at the local music school. After a year she was already performing in concerts, playing in chamber groups and after 2 years she was leading the youth string orchestra and became the youngest member of the Makó Symphony Orchestra. Twice she took part in the Zákányszék Regional Violin Competition, where she was awarded third place both times. In 2010 the Margaret Istók Foundation awarded Barbara with a prize for her musical activities.
At the age of 14, she moved to Budapest and began her studies at the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music. Teréz Pichner was her main subject teacher for the next 5 years and she also worked a lot with Erika Tóth and Géza Kapás. In chamber music, Zoltán Fejérvári was one of her most influential masters during her years at the Conservatoire. Their string quartet played at the opening of the Budapest Metro Line 4 and later performed at the Budapest Spring Festival. The quartet later formed a quintet and gave numerous concerts around the country after being mentored by the Quartetto di Cremona. Barbara has participated four times in the International Masterclass in Tata, where she studied with Katalin Sebestyén, László Baranyai, Ervin Schiffer, Károly Botvay and Marc Tooten. During these years she had the opportunity to play in the Palace of Arts, the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and in concert halls all over the country.
In July 2019, she received her first degree from the University of Music and Dance in Cologne. His professor at the time was Michael Vaiman and during her four years there she learned a lot from Prof Hans-Christian Schweiker, Prof Skerdjano Keraj, Adriana Sanchez and Prof Anna Freeman. As a member of the Junge Philharmonie Köln she performed extensively in the region, the most memorable of which was a concert at the Kölner Philharmonie. In the summer of 2018, she undertook her next challenge. She participated in a masterclass in Poland with Michael Vaiman and Magdalena Rezler, followed by an international violin competition. She was awarded a special prize at the Third Naleczow International Violin Competition.
Barbara has since graduated with a Master's degree from the Royal Academy of Music in London. She started her studies in September 2019 in György Pauk's class and in December she embarked on a series of concerts in China. In addition to solo and chamber concerts, she has given music recitals, represented our European culture and taught music to different age groups.
After completing her studies, in the autumn of 2021 she began teaching the instrument herself, becoming a teacher at the North London Conservatoire. In addition to teaching, she continues to perform and is open to new opportunities and challenges. Since her stay in London, she has become a permanent member of ALEPH and Resonate Chamber Orchestra, Audentia Ensemble, Piccadilly Sinfonietta and is a Young Artist of the Altalena Music Platform in Hungary. Her duo partner is Krisztina Orvos, with whom she performs under the name Duo Vivante, and Barbara is also a member of Trio Camarasa. In addition to making music, she is also keen to help younger people achieve their goals and is happy to take on the management of the Altalena Music Festival and Summer Academy.
Barbara is still looking for her place in the world. She doesn't want to choose between the many different forms of performance, because she can't. She really enjoys playing in orchestras, playing chamber music, performing alone on stage, and teaching.