Hailed by The Arts Desk as ‘the latest voice in the dialogue about what the future of classical music might look like’, Latvian cellist and conductor Margarita Balanas has performed at leading venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Sydney Opera House, Foundation Louis Vuitton and L’Auditori Barcelona.

Praised by GLAM Adelaide as “powerful, delicate, intense and brilliant”, Margarita is a recipient of the Latvian Grand Music Award and has performed as soloist with the Munich Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and at festivals such as Dresdner Musikfestspiele, the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, International Cello Festival Shanghai, Moritzburg Festival, and Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier, among others.

Margarita is a Decca Classics recording artist. Together with her sister, violinist Kristīne, they have now released Pēteris Vasks’ Castillo Interior, available across all major streaming platforms. The Balanas Sisters recently concluded their Australian tour, performing at Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre, and Snow Concert Hall in Canberra amongst others. Tony Way of The Age praised their performances, noting, ‘…one can only raise the hope that these consummate musicians will soon return.’ (★★★★★)

Margarita is a regular guest artist on Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 and ABC Classic. She has collaborated extensively with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Mutter Virtuosi, including multiple international tours and a recording for Deutsche Grammophon.

She currently plays the Charles-Adolphe Gand ‘Auguste Tolbecque’ 1849 cello, kindly on loan from The Little Butterfly Foundation. Camille Saint-Saëns wrote his cello Concerto No. 1 for Tolbecque who premiered the concerto on this cello in 1873.

In addition to performing as a cellist, Margarita has established herself as a conductor. She is the founder and conductor of the ANONIMI Orchestra and Charity. Margarita held the Assistant Conductor position to Paavo Järvi at the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in season 23/24 and 24/25. She has conducted the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orquestra do Algarve, the Royal Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, Fidelio Orchestra, Glover-Edwards Symphony Orchestra, Baltic Sea Philharmonic and Järvi Academy Orchestra and Sinfonietta. This season includes conducting debuts with Das Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen and Argovia Philharmonic, while also performing with her own orchestra, ANONIMI, at London’s Ladbroke Hall.

She has received mentorship and guidance from Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, Ben Palmer, Sigmund Thorp, and Leonid Grin and was selected for Professional Diploma studies in conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London under Sian Edwards. 

Maestro Järvi has remarked, “It's more mysterious than ever today what it takes to be a conductor, but you can tell straight away whether someone has that certain something. Margarita Balanas has it.”

Margarita Balanas’ musical journey began long before she touched a cello. Born in a small Latvian town of Dobele, with no family background in classical music, she was singing rock ’n’ roll on stage in festivals across the Baltics with her family before she could even speak. 

As children, Margarita, her sister Kristīne (violinist), and brother Roberts (cross-over violinist) would stage impromptu performances and eventually took their music to the streets, busking to earn money for their first instruments and to travel to international competitions. These early experiences shaped the determination, independence, and resilience that would come to define Margarita’s career.

At 15, Margarita won a full scholarship to the Purcell School of Music in the UK and later studied cello and conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she received the prestigious Bicentenary Scholarship.

In 2014, during a recital in Australia, her performance caught the attention of legendary cellist Lynn Harrell, who offered to mentor her. Harrell, a two-time Grammy Award winner, became a pivotal influence on her artistry for the following years. Margarita was also selected for Gautier Capuçon’s Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle in Paris, a prestigious program for exceptional young cellists.

From the streets of Latvia to the world’s great concert halls, Margarita Balanas brings music to life with an unmistakable voice all her own.