Anastasia Petrunina played her first concerts with The Venice Symphony last season and is back this season as Assistant Concertmaster.

Born in Ukraine, Anastasia began her violin studies at age six after her family moved to Russia. She graduated from the Moscow Conservatory College and got her Master’s  degree from the Yale School of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts from the  University of Georgia.

Anastasia has performed with orchestras and as a featured soloist and has toured and given masterclasses all over the world. She served as guest concertmaster for the Grand Opening of the Xi Opera House in China and has collaborated with conductors Robert Spano, Valeriy Gergive and oh yes, John Williams.  She also took part in recording the music for the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Olympic Games in 2014. 

Anastasia often shares the stage with her husband Denis Petrunin, as the ViMaDeAn Duo and with the Augusta Symphony, where Anastasia serves as concertmaster and Denis is Principal Timpanist.  This season they’ll spend even more time together as Denis joins The Venice Symphony. Currently ViMADeAn Duo is working on a project dedicated to environmental issues and Anastasia has commissioned  several works for her concert repertoire.

What you might not know about Anastasia is that she is an excellent baker, able to whip up a wicked cheesecake and macron, enjoys cross-stitching and has a soft spot for all cats, especially her own. She also loves to relax with a classic novel.  

Gearing up for the season, Anastasia spent her summer teaching and performing at music festivals around the U.S. “It was such a joy to see a new generation of young inspiring musicians and to share my experience with them as well as to collaborate with my wonderful colleagues on stage.” She also worked on her doctoral dissertation and prepared for upcoming concerts and a CD she recorded with Denis. Read more about ViMaDeAn Duo here

While she’s relatively new to The Venice Symphony, Anastasia says, “I absolutely love the energy Maestro Quinn is bringing to the podium, from the pops repertoire to the classic staples.” And like almost every musician we’ve featured, Anastasia is looking forward to Tchaik Strikes! “I am very excited about performing one of my favorite Symphonies – Tchaikovsky 4.” As Anastasia joins us from Georgia, she’s also a big fan of The Symphony’s musician host program.” “It makes such a big impact on the overall experience and I’m looking forward to spending time with our wonderful hosts we’ve met last year!”

Anastasia Petrunina’s Chair in the orchestra is sponsored by the  Schultz-Hill Foundation.