biography (violinist)

Ioana Petcu-Colan is one of the most established and versatile musicians to come from the island of Ireland. Born in Cork to Romanian, violinist parents, Ioana lived and worked in England, France and Spain before calling Northern Ireland home in 2010. She now travels internationally to perform, collaborate, teach, adjudicate and record in complement to her permanent role as Leader of the Ulster Orchestra. 

On both modern and period instruments, Ioana has performed a considerable number of solo works with orchestra, including over twenty of the major violin concertos as well as shorter works and more contemporary offerings from renowned composers such as Philip Glass, John Tavener and Arvo Pärt. Ioana’s recording of the Bruch Violin Concerto with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra continues to get regular airplay and her UK premiere of Ian Wilson’s third violin concerto, ‘Sullen Earth’, with the Ulster Orchestra was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Ioana has toured Europe, US, South America and Asia, and has performed, recorded, broadcast and coached in her various roles as leader/violinist; as former founder member of the prize-winning Callino Quartet, with piano trio Ensemble Avalon and with South American folk band Lunfardía. Chamber collaborations have been with artists as diverse as members of the Alban Berg string quartet, Barry Douglas (piano), John Abercrombie (jazz guitarist), Martin Hayes (traditional Irish fiddle) and Canadian band Arcade Fire (indie rock), and as a member of an all-female touring violin quartet comprising the Concertmasters of the four leading professional orchestras on the island of Ireland - the Ulster, National Symphony, RTÉ Concert and Irish Chamber Orchestras. 

A committed advocate for new and current art, Ioana has worked personally with Peteris Vasks, Philip Glass and Arvo Pärt among others, and recorded solo and chamber works by composers such as Valentin Silvestrov, John Tavener, Ian Wilson and Alexander Knaifel for commercial release. Memorable performances include ‘Una Santa Oscura’ by Ian Wilson in Dublin - a staged, choreographed, immersive 45-minute ‘opera without words’ for solo violin and electronics, Morton Feldman’s epic 6-hour String Quartet No. 2 with BCN216 and members of the Casals Quartet in Barcelona, Luigi Nono’s ‘La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura’ for solo violin and 8 magnetic tapes for BBC Radio 3, and recording the premiere of Donnacha Dennehy’s violin concerto ‘Elastic Harmonic’ with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland for broadcast on national television. 

Ioana is a long-standing member of Musici Ireland - a flexible ensemble and production house who together create and present original, multi-artform, inter-disciplinary work in complement to their core chamber season. 

Alongside her role at the Ulster Orchestra, Ioana is in increasing demand joining a variety of orchestras at home and abroad as Guest Leader, such as the BBC Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Irish National Opera, City of Birmingham Symphony, RTÉ Concert and Hallé Orchestras. She is on the violin faculty at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, teaches at Queens University, Belfast, regularly appears as panellist and jury member for competitions, examination boards and Arts Councils, and provides chamber and orchestral tutoring and coaching for all ages and stages. 

Ioana plays a 1695 Cappa violin, and proudly claims a very special gift made by her father, Adrian Petcu, among her bow collection. 

Photo credit @thomasljackson