Levon Chilingirian, born in Cyprus, began violin with his great uncle, Vahan Bedelian. After emigrating to the U.K., he later studied with his uncle, Manoug Parikian, Hugh Bean, and the Amadeus Quartet. Chilingirian’s partnership with the late Clifford Benson was launched by winning first prizes in the 1969 BBC Beethoven Competition and the 1971 ARD Munich Duo International Competition.

Founded in 1971, the Chilingirian Quartet continues today as one of the most celebrated string quartets on the international scene, its highly regarded recorded repertoire spanning classical to contemporary works. Most recently, the Quartet has performed the Brahms and Mozart Quintets with Andrew Marriner in London. It celebrated the 50th anniversary of its residency at Liverpool University with a concert at the wonderful new Tung Auditorium.

Chilingirian also performs as a soloist and with other chamber music partners. He has been co- artistic director and soloist of the Pharos Festival (Cyprus), director of Mendelssohn on Mull, and has coached chamber music around the world, including for El Sistema in Venezuela. He continues annually at the UK’s West Dean College Chamber Music Course as well as other courses and academies around Europe and the U.S. He was soloist and artistic director of Camerata Nordica in Sweden where he performed and recorded many concertos, including the world premiere of the second violin concerto of Tigran Mansurian. An exciting opportunity came to play the solo violin part of the Sinfonia Concertante by Mozart in Peter Schafer’s Amadeus film with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. As a soloist Chilingirian has appeared with the Bergen Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, the Philharmonia, the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra and Armenian National Chamber Orchestra.

Chilingirian has given master classes at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, at the Royal Danish Conservatory in Copenhagen, at the Manhattan School of Music, NYC, and the New England Conservatory in Boston. As well as being chair of the Trondheim String Quartet Competition, he has served on numerous international competition juries such as the Osaka, ARD, and Sibelius Violin competitions. He is a regular mentor at the chamber music festival at Domaine Forget, Quebec, where the most talented young string players from North America rehearse and perform with established masters.

Levon Chilingirian received the Cobbett Medal for services to music and in January 2000, an OBE in the Queen’s Honours List. He is Professor of Violin and Chamber Music Artist in Residence at the Royal Academy of Music (London) as well as Professor of Violin and Chamber Music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London).