Veronika Wilhelm

Born into a family with Hungarian roots in Schwerin, Veronika Wilhelm received her first cello lessons at the age of five. In 1987, she began to study cello with Prof. Josef Schwab at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin, later complementing her diploma as an orchestra musician with further studies: she was awarded her concert diploma (‘Konzertexamen’) with distinction in 1994. Moreover, she has held scholarships from numerous orchestra foundations and competed successfully at a range of international competitions. Following her graduation in 1994, she was employed as a tutor for cello at the Musikhochschule ‘Hanns Eisler’ and was, at the same time, a member of the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin (the former RSO). Since the 1996/97 season, she has been principal cellist with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, where she is also part of the Gewandhausoktett. Furthermore, Wilhelm has been a member of the Bayreuther Festspielorchester since 2000, and she has also acted as an adjudicator for the Deutscher Musikinstrumentenpreis. Since 1997, she has continued her pedagogical work at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater ‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’ Leipzig (HMT), and has additionally acted as a mentor at the orchestra academy run by the Gewandhausorchester in cooperation with the HMT. She was awarded an honorary professorship in 2008. Wilhelm plays a cello made in 1700 by Giovanni Grancino; it belongs to the inventory of the Gewandhaus Leipzig.