Informations
Facts
Born in Berlin, Germany
Member since 01.09.2013
Biography
The violin plays an important role in Helena Madoka Berg’s family: Her parents are violinists, and when her big sister began violin lessons with them, she wanted to learn the instrument too. The desire to become a professional musician came only later. The Berliner studied at the Julius Stern Institute of Berlin’s University of the Arts with Tomasz Tomaszewski (1997-2004), at the Juilliard School in New York with Robert Mann, and at the Academy of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin with Antje Weithaas. She also attended masterclasses with Kurt Saßmannshaus, Thomas Brandis, Rainer Kussmaul and Christian Tetzlaff. Her studies were supported by several grants, including from the German Foundation for Musical Life and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz.
A winner of several competitions, including the Jakob-Stainer Violin Competition and the Ibolyka-Gyarfas Violin Competition, she gained early orchestral experience in the Jeunesse Musicales World Orchestra, the Landesjugendorchester Berlin, and the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. From 2009 to 2010, she was a member of the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker and was a student of Guy Braunstein and Christian Stadelmann. Her first orchestral position took her to the Munich Philharmonic, and since the summer of 2012 she has been a member of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Helena Madoka Berg joined the second violins of the Berliner Philharmoniker in September 2013, and she has played in the first violin section since February 2016. When she is not playing the violin, she loves cooking, baking and learning to paraglide.
Awards
Award of the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz (2009)
Carl Flesch Prize (2008)
2nd Prize, Ibolyka-Gyarfas Violin Competition (2007)
2nd Prize, Concours International de violon d'Avignon (2003)
1st Prize and audience prize, Jacob Stainer Violin Competition (2001)
1st Prizes and special awards in the national competition “Jugend musiziert” (2000/2001)
Ensembles of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Philharmonisches Streichensemble
Philharmonic String Quartet
