Cristina Prats-Costa

violin

Described by The Strad magazine as "a leader playing with uncommon sensitivity," Spanish violinist Cristina Prats-Costa is a passionate and versatile baroque violinist dedicated to forging meaningful musical connections through collaboration and performance.

Her career spans leading ensembles across Europe and North America, including The English Concert, Il Pomo d'Oro, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, L'Harmonie des Saisons, Irish Baroque Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Arcangelo, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Toronto Consort, and Theatre of Early Music, among others. She is known for her collaborative spirit and dynamic artistry as a performer and recording artist in historically informed performance.

Cristina has received numerous accolades, including the Manhattan International Music Competition 2025 – Baroque Music Prize and Special Award, the Christopher Hogwood Award, the Excellence Award, and the Shalom Ben-Uri Doctorate Recital Prize from the University of Toronto. She was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM) in 2019, in recognition of her professional achievements.

A committed chamber musician, Cristina is the co-founder and first violinist of the award-winning Alauda Quartet, recipients of the Chamber Music Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music, the Park Lane Group Award, and the Making Music Emerging Artist Award (UK). Their critically acclaimed debut album on Brilliant Classics features the complete string quartets of Italian composer Roffredo Caetani, produced with the support of the Caetani Foundation.

She studied at leading institutions in Europe and North America, including the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal Academy of Music (London), the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, and The Juilliard School (New York), where she earned her Master's degree in Historically Informed Performance in 2024. She is currently pursuing her DMA at the University of Toronto, with research focused on ornamentation methodology.

When she is not on stage, Cristina can often be found on a mission to discover the best ice cream spots in town!