Katia Popov
violin
Katia Popov is a first prize winner of the International Svetoslav Obretanov competition, the International Kozian violin competition and the International Competition for Russian Music.
Katia graduated from the Bulgarian Conservatory of Music with honors. While pursuing her master’s degree in Performance at the National Academy of Music in Sofia, she served as concertmaster of the Sofia Chamber Orchestra and the Academy of Music Chamber Orchestra.
Continuing her studies at the Paris Conservatory under Professor Nell Goutkovsky, Katia became the concertmaster of the Orchestre Symphonique d’Europe (ESO), a vibrant and young orchestra with the ambitious goal of bringing together the most talented musicians from every country in united Europe and molding them into the best young symphonic orchestra in the world. As soloist and concertmaster with the ESO, Katia traveled and recorded extensively, and performed for European prime ministers and the royal families of Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. After moving to Los Angeles, Katia received her master’s degree and concluded her doctoral studies at UCLA under Professor Alexander Treger.
Katia has participated in solo and chamber music master classes with Tibor Varga, Vladimir Spivakov and Iona Brown, and has performed at the Bach Music Festival in Oregon, the Mozart Festival in Salzburg with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Brahms Music Festival in Tours, France. Katia has performed numerous times with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under such conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir Simon Rattel and Zubin Mehta. Katia won the audition to join the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in 1990.
Katia is an avid chamber music performer and is the founder and first violin of the award-winning California String Quartet. Since 2002, she has served as music director of the Quartet’s Musical Sunday Afternoons.
Active in the Hollywood studios, Katia has worked on more than 700 motion picture and television soundtracks. She has performed Michael Daugherty’s violin concerto Fire and Blood to great acclaim, and is frequently invited to perform as soloist with orchestras in Southern California, South America and Europe.
In March 2009, Katia was chosen to perform as concertmaster of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Her work with the HBO includes collaborations with such artists as Kiri Te Kanawa, John Williams, Andrea Bocelli, David Newman, Thomas Wilkins, David Campbell, Donna Summer, Jean-Ives Tibodet and James Galloway, among others. Katia also holds a principal position with the Long Beach Symphony.
One of the most sought-after violinists in the Los Angeles area, Katia has garnered stellar reviews from the critics.
“Popov’s musical voice was powerful, rich and full of life, her technique flawless and the collaboration with Diemecke delicately exact.” (Press Telegram)
“She has a beautiful sound…as well as technique to burn. She delivered a magnificent performance, using her magic fingers to surmount myriad hurdles with jaw-dropping ease.” (Long Beach Grunion)
“…Shining through like a bright light, soloist Katia Popov lit up the stage…[She] played with precision, admirable clarity and Slavic flair.” (The Outlook)
