Alexandre da Costa

Alexandre Da Costa was born in Montreal, Canada, in 1979. He showed an uncommon interest for both the violin and piano at a very early age. By the age of nine, he had the astounding ability to perform his first concerts with stunning virtuosity on both instruments, which brought him recognition as a musical prodigy. His chosen professional career as a violinist began very early and he was soon performing regularly as soloist with orchestra as well as in recital. In 1998, at the age of 18, he received a Master's degree in violin and a First Prize from the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec where he studied with Johanne Arel. Concurrently, he also received a Bachelor' s degree in Piano Interpretation from the faculty of music of the University of Montreal. From 1998 to 2001, he studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid with the violin master Zakhar Bron, teacher of violinists such as Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin. In 2002, he won the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award for best Canadian artist under 30 years old. Between 2003 and 2006, after winning the Musical Instrument Bank competition of the Canada Council for the Arts, he played the 1689 Baumgartner Stradivarius.