Vanessa Mae

Vanessa-Mae, a young violinist, took the world by storm when she was just sixteen with the release of her first 'pop' album: The Violin Player. Touted as a "Child Prodigy," many in the Classical community were excited with this new exciting star who had already released 3 Classical CD's when she was 12 & 13, had toured with orchestras, and participated in many TV appearances with professional aplomb. It was early 1995 when Vanessa strongly came onto the music scene with her hugely successful Pop CD, The Violin Player. The Classical elites were appalled that their prodigy had released a "Pop" CD packaged as Classical. But the world soon fell in Love with Vanessa and her brand of Music, a blend of Classical, Pop and Jazz. Vanessa mesmerized audiences with her compositions and charismatic personality. She also dressed to kill, causing an additional uproar from a few stodgy Classical elitists. But it is her mastery of the violin which leaves listeners in awe. 

The Violin Player ran up the charts in over twenty countries, shortly after its release. In 1996, she was nominated for the 'Best Female Artist' in the BRIT Awards, an award based in the UK. Vanessa is the first instrumentalist and classical musician to be nominated for this award, which is voted for being a mainstream pop award.

As Vanessa progressed from child prodogy to independent adulthood both she and her music have matured. The personal strength and dynamic presence of Vaness-Mae are clear indicators of a musician who has fully arrived and is here to stay.