Aged just three, Esther was given her first tiny violin by her grandmother, who herself had been a gifted violinist but, as was the custom at the time, gave up her own music-making when she got married. “I remember her trying to teach me how to hold the little violin” Abrami recalls. Although enchanted by this small, beautiful object, it would not be until the age of ten before Esther started to learn how to play in earnest, taking to the violin immediately. “I loved the feeling of the violin tucked in so close to me, like a living creature. I loved the sensation of the warm sound travelling through my body. After just half an hour with the bow in my hand, I knew that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life”, she recollects fondly.

Always serious about her art, even as a child, Esther would watch concerts on television and try to recreate the sounds she heard. Being extremely motivated and having studied incredibly hard, at the age of 14 she eventually became a boarding student at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, often getting up very early at 5am to spend extra time in the rehearsal rooms.

Her hard work paid off and in 2017 Esther was accepted as a student at the world-leading Royal College of Music in London. Alongside her lessons, Esther also began to build her online career, playing popular classical music on her social media channels. She was more surprised and gratified by the positive response, however, when she started uploading practice videos, sight reading videos and tips and helpful techniques for aspiring young musicians.

Esther has approached social media with the same open mindedness with which she performs her music. She has a sense of fun and fashion and delights in her collaborations with leading fashion houses like Givenchy. She has also entertained people online by demonstrating the difference between the sound of a priceless Stradivarius and a copy and is not averse to including the rescue cats she fosters in her posts. A recent YouTube video of her practising with a kitten snuggled in a pouch around her waist has received over 10 million views.

French violinist Esther Abrami has been described as a ‘rising star’ by Strings Magazine and as a ‘glamorous and influential star’ by Pianist Magazine.

She has featured on both TV and Radio shows including Sky News, BBC Radio 3 where she performed the premiere of Chanson d’été by Paul Ibbotson and Classic FM who regularly invite her to perform.

Larsen Strings and Esther Abrami

We share the same passion to bring classical music to young people. Throughout the development of Aurora for violin our aim was to provide quality strings at an affordable price. From full size right down to fractional 1/16 without compromise.

Esther is passionate about bringing classical music to thousands of children and teenagers across the globe. “When social media became popular, I decided to share what I am passionate about: classical music and particularly violin…I have now over 300K followers on my channels, 80% of them are under the age of 30.”

Esther Abrami plays a fine Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin, kindly loaned to her through the Beare’s International Violin Society. Esther Abrami is a Larsen Strings Performing Artist and plays Larsen Aurora for violin.

Hear Larsen Aurora in performance.

Amy Beach: Romance for violin and piano, Op. 23.
Out now on Sony Classical.