Biography

British violinist Davina Clarke is internationally renowned in baroque, classical and romantic repertoire. With a passion for historically informed performance, she performs around the globe with the most highly regarded UK period ensembles.

She frequents the platforms at the world’s greatest concert halls including Carnegie Hall and The Lincoln Center (New York), the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Philharmonie (Paris), La Scala (Italy), Palau de la Musica (Barcelona), Philharmonie (Berlin), The Royal Opera House, Wigmore Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London.

In 2022, Davina released her debut solo album, Sweet Stillness, alongside soprano Mary Bevan. Described as ‘luminous’ in a 4-star review by BBC Music Magazine, the album features Handel’s Neun Deutche Arien and a selection of his violin sonatas. Following on from this album’s success, Davina released her second solo album, The Art of Obligato. The disc features a selection of obligato arias from Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas. She is joined by Hugh Cutting (countertenor) and Nick Pritchard (tenor). The album was reviewed in BBC Music Magazine and Gramophone Magazine, and was chosen as BBC Radio 3’s ‘Album of the Week’ on Essential Classics.

Davina studied her Masters at The Royal Academy of Music under Rachel Podger and Simon Standage as a Golden Charitable Trust Scholar. During her time there, she won the Roy Burcher and Tebbutt Exhibition Awards, and was awarded a First Class Distinction and a DipRAM. In 2020, she was made an Associate of The Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) for her outstanding contribution to the music industry.

Davina is founder and host of The Classical Corner, a podcast which takes listeners behind the scenes of the classical music world today, through discussions with some of the world’s most highly regarded musicians. In addition to this, she is passionate about mixology and, through her partnership with The World’s 50 Best Bars, explores the relationship between classical music and cocktails in her series, Martini Melody.

Davina plays on both a 1659 Francesco Ruggieri violin and also a 1695 Giovanni Battista Rogeri violin. She is very grateful to Sebastian Lyon, The VEC Acorn Trust, Helen and John Skinner and The Stradivari Trust for their generous support.