Ms Doretta Balkizas

Based in Germany since 2015, Australian violinist Doretta Balkizas returns to Australia in July 2024 as the newly appointed Lecturer in Violin at The University of Queensland School of Music. She leads a varied life as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician and in recent seasons, has performed, recorded and toured in various ensembles, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Bremer Philharmoniker and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, appearing in concert throughout Europe, Asia and Australia.

Doretta has performed as a concerto soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Nanning Symphony Orchestra (China), and was a finalist in several major Australian competitions, including the 2015 Symphony Australia Young Performer Award and the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholarship for Violinists, where she was a major prize-winner and received the inaugural Fritz Kreisler Prize.

As a chamber musician, Doretta has appeared at the International Holland Music Sessions, the Musica Viva Festival, Coriole Music Festival, Mackay Chamber Music Festival and the Yellow Barn Music Festival, where she collaborated with Roger Tapping (Juilliard String Quartet) and Donald Weilerstein.

In 2018, Doretta received her Master of Music with distinction from the Hochschule für Musik “HannsEisler”, Berlin, having previously completed an undergraduate degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as a student of Alice Waten.