Biography
Born in Tunisia in 1995, Bacem Anas Romdhani started his violin studies at the age of five, at his father’s music school 'Conservatoire Zyriab of Music and Dance' with Professors Rachid Koubaa & Sem Slimane.
At the age of nine, he made his debut as a soloist with the Tunisian Symphony Orchestra playing concertos by Dancla & Viotti at the Municipal Theatre of Tunis.
His successful performance was recognised by the multi-award winning documentary producer Hichem Ben Ammar and later became the driving force of a documentary produced about his musical journey. The documentary is called ‘Once Upon Our Time’ and was published in 2010. It won prizes in Tunisia, Italy, France, Qatar & Internationally.
At the age of ten, Bacem Anas started his international career when he represented Tunisia, Africa & the Arab world to play with the World Philharmonic Orchestra in Paris. During the French tour, Bacem Anas won 1st prize at the “Vatelot-Rampal” competition (France). Shortly after a few performances in Les Invalides & Reims, the WPO granted him a scholarship which he used to study abroad with leading teachers in Europe, such as Thierry Huchin 1st violin, L’opéra de la Bastille in France, Natalie Geoffrey in Lyon and Claire Bourdet in Belgium. Later that year, he attended the ‘Tibor Varga’ master class in Switzerland with the great Russian soloist Viktor Pikaizen. Bacem Anas was the youngest member to ever join the group, out of one hundred applicants, eight were chosen. His success came to the attention of the President of the Tunisian Republic, which led to his invite to the presidential castle, where he was honoured for his contribution to Music.
At the age of eleven, his successful story came to the attention of Habib Bourguiba Jr.(son of the 1st president of Tunisia) who facilitated his move to the United Kingdom, to join the prestigious music school ‘The Yehudi Menuhin School’ under a full scholarship. Bacem Anas studied with Akiko Ono and the world-renowned pedagogue Simon Fischer. Since his move to join the school, he played in concerts as a soloist and in chamber music in venues such as Nightingale house, Menuhin Hall, Wigmore Hall & tours with the Yehudi Menuhin school orchestra at Mansion house & Thaxted church in London, the Muziekgebouw in Holland and Gstaad, Saanen for the Yehudi Menuhin Festival. Bacem Anas’ concert venue appearances in Tunisia include, City of Science, El-Jem Roman Theatre, Acropolium of Carthage, International Festival of Carthage, Municipal Theatre of Sousse and is regularly invited back to play with the Tunisian Symphony Orchestra at their residency Hall, Municipal Theatre of Tunis as part of his ‘Artist in Residence’ position. Other appearances took place in various masterclasses with leading teachers around the globe, including Viktor Pikaizen (Russia), Lewis Kaplan (America) & András Keller (Hungary).
He successfully graduated from the Yehudi Menuhin School in 2014 and received a full scholarship to join the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he carried on his studies with prof. Simon Fischer. He graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree, with distinction, and is currently doing a master’s degree in performance at the Royal College of Music with professor Radu Blidar under a full scholarship from Switzerland.
Bacem Anas is a recipient of various scholarship awards including, WPO Foundation (Paris), Help Musicians (UK), Amsha Trust (Switzerland) & various generous private donors. In December 2019, He became the first Tunisian Artist to join the roster of Talent Unlimited (UK).
Bacem Anas Romdhani performs on the 1998 'Ex Menuhin' violin made by Andreas Hellinge. This violin purchase was made possible by generous private donors. He uses a very fine English bow by W.E. Hill. kindly on Loan from Benjamin Hebbert Fine Violins Limited.
www.bacemanasviolin.com | Youtube
