Clara Salzmann, born to musician parents, tried a multitude of instruments including cello, violin, and recorder before at eight years old deciding on viola. Since then she has gone on to play principle viola positions in the Pettman National Junior Academy chamber orchestra, International Akaroa Summer Music Festival chamber orchestra, and first to second desk in altering programmes of Auckland Youth Orchestra.
A recent highlight has been accepting an invitation to take part in the “Detmold Hochschule fur music Sommerakademie fur JuMu preistager 2017” in Germany, a conservatory-based summer academy for Germany’s youth elite musicians, where she was given the opportunity to take daily private lessons with Prof. Veit Hertenstein of the Detmold Hochschule fur musik and other performance and music-enhancing opportunities. She has participated in masterclasses and courses with Prof. Marco Misciagni (conservatory Potenza), Prof. Ramon Jaffe (Carl Maria von Weber Hochschule, Dresen), Mara Tieles (principal viola EUBO), Friedemann Jorns, Prof Charles Castleman (currently of Frost School and formerly of Eastman school of music) and Andrew Beer (concertmaster of the APO).
Clara was a semi-finalist in the Auckland region of the 2017 CMNZ Chamber music competition, a gold medal winner in the Lewis Eady Chamber music competition, and is a recipient of a Pettman National Junior Academy scholarship. She has participated in the Internatonal Akaroa Festival as a player numerous times. She is also a keen choir singer, having sung in the Big Sing National Finale twice with the Fundamentals choir. Her teacher is Mark Bennett.