Leo Strelle
Violinist | Arranger | Composer
"This was a most impressive performance marked by effortless technical command,
expressive lines and natural musicianship. From the very start you spoke to us with
real eloquence and with sheer quality in all that you did."
- George Caird, adjudicator at the Abingdon music festival concerto competition 2018 about Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto
"Very successful where you felt totally on top of it and were able to
give it the real 'gypsy', carefree, free and semi-improvisational feel”
- Andrew Sherwood, adjudicator of Springboard 2017 about Ravel's “Tzigane”
Leo Strelle is a Norwegian-Russian violinist in the class of Tanja Becker-Bender, Professor at Hamburg Hochschule für Musik und Theater.
Leo Strelle was born in Drammen, Norway in 2001, entirely unaware that four years from then, on his birthday, he would receive the gift that would shape the rest of his life, the violin. Leo came from a family of professional musicians. Leo's father was an organist, conductor and teacher and would assist Leo's practice and overall musical development. His mother, Natalia Strelle, was a prolific concert pianist, who moulded Leo's concert career from an early age.
From the age of six, Leo often played as the encore of his mother's recitals as well as many solo engagements in churches and other venues across Norway and abroad.
In 2009 he was awarded a full scholarship to study at Chetham's School of Music in the UK. There, he proceeded to study with Sebastian Muller, while also having regular lessons with Savelij Shalman on masterclasses with a full-scholarship in Italy, Spain, Germany, England, Norway and privately at St Petersburg School of Music.
At Chetham's Leo got the opportunity to do exactly that what he loved; performing regular solo recitals, orchestral and ensemble concerts with a great variety of other musicians and chamber music groups. His Quartet later went on to win 'The Fiona Ord Chamber Music Competition'.
Leo has collaborated and performed as a soloist with various orchestras across the UK and abroad. At the age of 12, he played Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings with his mother and the Amaretti Orchestra in Aberdeen, Scotland.
He has performed violin concertos by composers such as Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Vieuxtemps, Vivaldi and Bach with Oslo's NMH Symphony Orchestra in St. Petersburg, Abington Symphony Orchestra, the Virtuoso Violin Festival Orchestra and the White Rose Symphony Orchestra. He has also played in several venues across France including the Conservatoire de Paris and Theater de Belfort.
Leo received first prize in the 23rd International Competition for Young Musicians “Città di Barletta” in Italy alongside other prizes in national and international competitions such as 'Burgos International Festival Competition' and 'The Springboard Violin Competition'.
He has participated in many masterclasses with world renowned Professors, such as Tasmin Little, Stephan Picard, Friedemann Eichhorn, Rimma Sushanskaya, Gabor Takacs- Nagy, Ulf Schneider and Linus Roth to name a few.
Leo is also an avid orchestral musician. He has received a plethora of experience leading orchestras in Chetham’s, after doing so with the Chetham’s Chamber Orchestra “Violetta” for a year and later being the concertmaster of Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra, performing Elgar's Enigma Variations, Britten's Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes and William Walton's Partita for Orchestra, to name a few. He went on to do plenty of other orchestral projects including a concert tour around Norway with the Berlin Camerata, around China with the Manchester Camerata and being the concertmaster in a series of concerts with a German freelance orchestra and the Johannischer Choir in Berlin. He has also done voluntary work in Turkey in the Büyükada Concert Ensemble in collaboration with the Turkish National Youth Philharmonic Orchestra.
In October 2019 has moved to Germany to do his Bachelors with Professor Tanja Becker-Bender at the Musikhochschule in Hamburg.
From his multicultural lifestyle, he has acquired the knowledge of several languages including English, Norwegian, Russian and German.
In his spare time, Leo enjoys rowing and cycling and is an avid composer.