JAIME NAYA

Jaime Naya, born in 2000, began violin studies at age five with Savva and Sergei Fatkulin. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at the Katarina Gurska Center in Madrid, supported by a scholarship from the Katarina Gurska Foundation after winning First Prize in its Talent Competition. He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin with Prof. Michael Martin. He has also participated in masterclasses with renowned artists such as Vadim Repin, Mihaela Martin, Kirill Troussov, Pavel Vernikov, Giorgi Dimchevski, and Esther Yoo. He has received numerous awards, including a laureate distinction at the 2025 Ion Voicu Violin Competition, First Prize at the Leonid Kogan International Competition in Brussels, and five consecutive awards from the Katarina Gurska Foundation. He has performed as a soloist in major venues such as the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, and internationally in Italy, Germany, Austria, France, and more, under conductors like Maestro Dimitris Botinis and Maestro Gabriel Bebeselea.

Was there a specific moment or experience that made you realize you wanted to become a musician?

Fortunately, I was introduced to classical music since I was born, and at the age of 6 years old, I decided that I wanted to play the violin. Since then, it was pretty clear for me to become a professional violinist.

When you perform, what do you hope to communicate or make the audience feel?

I would say that the goal of every concert I perform is to make the audience feel what I think the music they are listening is about, and I believe that to make this happen, I try to be as honest as I can while playing.

If you had to present yourself by playing a single piece from the entire repertoire, which one would you choose, and why?

Probably Prokofiev 2nd sonata or Schumann 2nd Sonata. Prokofiev 2nd sonata has been probably my favorite sonata for some years, but lately getting to play Schumann 2nd sonata it’s been very special, I think it is very difficult not to feel attached to pieces like this that shows in such a high level of detail and clarity human feelings, of course each one in it particular way.