| Margarita Balanas | |
| Birth Place: | Dobele, Latvia |
| Genre: | Classical |
| Occupation: | Cellist, conductor |
| Instrument: | Cello |
Margarita Balanas (born 30 September 1993) is a Latvian concert cellist and conductor.
Balanas won her first international competition at age eight, and made her concert debut in London at Wigmore Hall at age 17.[1]
She has performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London,[2] and at Corum as part of the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier with her sister Kristine Balanas.[3]
Balanas has appeared as a soloist with Iași "Moldova" Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Gabriel Bebeselea.[4]
Appearing with Carlos Izcaray conducting the Orquestra Sinfonica do Porto Casa da Música, she performed Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme in 2015.[5]
She performed with Lynn Harrell at the Adelaide International Cello Festival in 2014.[6] Her playing was favorably noted.[7]
In 2018, she performed with the Orchestra of St John's, conducted by John Lubbock at Ashmolean Museum Proms.[8]
In 2019, she and her sister performed at The Alpine Fellowship annual symposium.[9]
Balanas was selected by Gautier Capuçon for the "Classe d'Excellence de Violoncelle" at the Fondation Louis Vuitton[10] with performances broadcast on Medici.tv.[11]
Balanas plays a Charles-Adolphe Gand ‘Auguste Tolbecque 1849 cello.[12] Her former instruments include Nicolo Gagliano and Giovanni Battista Rogeri cellos.[13]
Balanas is the sister of violinists Kristine Balanas and Roberts Balanas.[14]