Karin Tilch

1st Violin

Karin Tilch has been a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra’s First Violins since 1993. Karin Tilch first studied the violin in her home city of Bremen, Germany, with Prof. Josef Bayerlein at the Hochschule für Künste, taking her Künstlerische Reifeprüfung in 1989 with the Tchaikovsky concerto.

Portrait of Karin Tilch

Her studies continued with Prof. Thomas Zehetmair at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin, playing the Brahms concerto for her Konzertexamen in 1992, as well as taking masterclasses with Franco Gulli and Igor Oistrach.

In 1988 she played for the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, under Leonard Bernstein and Sergiu Celibidache, during which time she was also doing extra work with the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra. She went on to play for the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie over 1991 and 1992, before joining the Philharmonia in 1993.

As a soloist Karin played the Beethoven Concerto with a semi-professional orchestra in Bremen in 2002, playing the Brahms with that same orchestra in 2008.

In her free time, Karin enjoys gardening and the outdoors, and swimming in the sea – even if it’s cold! A creative through-and-through, she is also adept at more hands-on creative work, for a long time enjoying creating costumes for childrens’ performances.

Chair endowed by Barbara Dohmann KC in honour of Michael Brindle KC & Alison Brindle.

Endowment opportunities at the Philharmonia offer supporters unique access and insights to our players. Find out more here.