Viola Wilmsen

Viola Wilmsen has been principal oboist of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) since 2012, prior to which she held the same position for three years in the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin. She is much in demand as a soloist and chamber musician worldwide. She has performed solo oboe concertos with the DSO (under Kent Nagano), with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Camerata Bern, the Hamburg Camerata, Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra (Japan) and the Haydn Orchestra (Italy). Furthermore, she has made solo appearances in venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Berlin Konzerthaus and a great number of international festivals. Her chamber music sextet Berlin Counterpoint released its first CD in 2014 to wide critical acclaim; the ensemble has also received the Usedom Music Prize. In 2014 as well, (Ms) Viola Wilmsen was a cowinner of the coveted German Echo Klassik award as a member of the Berolina Ensemble.
As solo oboist, guest appearances have led her to concertize with orchestras such as the Berlin and Munich Philharmonics, the Bamberg Symphony and the orchestras of the Berlin and Munich state operas. She has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Riccardo Chailly, Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta and Andris Nelsons. Viola Wilmsen studied oboe with Diethelm Jonas in Lübeck, Dominik Wollenweber in Berlin, and Jacques Tys in Paris. In 2009 she won the International Sony Oboe Competition in Japan. In the event’s 30-year history, she was the first woman and the first German to win First Prize. She won further First Prizes at various competitions in Germany, Italy and Poland, and also as both oboist and pianist in the UK. Viola Wilmsen has held a teaching post for oboe at Lübeck Musikhochschule since 2015. She teaches masterclasses in Germany and abroad, and is often called upon to be a jury member at international competitions.