New Professor of Violin at Mozarteum University Salzburg 

German violinist Thomas Reif will assume the role, effective as of October, 2021

(Photo credit: Andrej Grilc)

In addition to teaching, Reif will continue to perform as concertmaster of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since 2018. He will also continue performing with Cuarteto SolTango, his tango group, which recently released its fourth album “Misión Tango.” 

Growing up in Bavaria, Reif was accepted to the Mozarteum when he was 12 as a pre-college student. For the next seven years, he traveled to Salzburg each week to have lessons with Bruno Steinschaden and Harald Herzl.

He has won prizes at the Ruggiero Ricci, International Johannes Brahms, Elise Meyer, and the Leopold Mozart International Violin Competition. 

In 2012, he debuted at Salzburg’s Mozart Festival with conductor Douglas Boyd and also received the Ian Stoutzker Prize that same year — awarded in memory of Yehudi Menuhin.

His solo engagements included playing with Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, National Orchestra of Belgium, Münchener Rundfunkorchester, Las Vegas Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Carinthia, and Salzburg Chamber Soloists.

A graduate of Berlin’s Hochschule Hanns Eisler, Reif’s other mentors included Tanja Becker-Bender and Stephan Picard. Reif plays a 1690 Pietro Guarneri violin.

"It was always a dream of mine to teach and help young musicians develop their own musical identity,” Reif told The Violin Channel. “Even though I lived in Salzburg for only one year it feels a bit like coming home now.

“Since it’s not so long ago that I was a student myself, I can relate to the difficulties and challenges that one faces while trying to find their place as a musician and artist and I hope I can support every student on their own individual path.”