'Her well sustained brilliance of tone, clarity of expression and dazzling technique commanded the attention of the audience like a magnet. Here, clearly, is a star in the making' (Oxford Times)
Mandhira de Saram was born in London. After completing her primary education in Sri Lanka, she was awarded a music scholarship to North London Collegiate School where she completed her secondary education. She was also a Leverhulme Scholar at the Junior Royal Academy of Music where she performed both as a violinist and pianist, also taking classes in composition and conducting. Her violin teachers have included Igor Petrushevsky, Howard Davis and Levon Chilingirian. Mandhira graduated with first class honours from the University of Oxford with a high first in performance and was the winner of the Worcester College Arts Prize for the highest result in an arts subject. Here she was the leader of several orchestras and chamber groups including Ensemble Isis which specializes in contemporary music.
Working professionally as a freelance violinist, she appears frequently as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral violinist around the UK and abroad. 2011 saw international solo/duo tours in the USA, India and her country of origin, Sri Lanka. Other significant performances include venues such as the Sheldonian Theatre and Holywell Music Rooms in Oxford, Wotton House Series, Swaledale Festival and at various venues in London such as Cadogan Hall, The Forge Camden, Queen's Gate Terrace Concert series, Rosslyn Hill Chapel and the Handel Room at the Foundling Museum. She also gave a recital of unaccompanied violin music at the Garden Court Barristers' Chambers of Lincoln's Inn. Her repertoire is varied consisting of standard classical works as well as new and experimental repertoire often involving collaborations with contemporary composers such as Nirmali Fenn, Gabriel Prokofiev and Deborah Pritchard. She also collaborated with film/theatre composer Jessica Dannheisser and Metta Theatre on a multimedia installation (12 Dancing Princesses) commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum and recently recorded the soundtracks (composed by Dannheisser, scored for violin, cello, piano and synthesized sounds) for two short films which were released in spring 2011.
Mandhira is the founding member of the recently formed Ligeti Quartet, a string quartet which is devoted to promoting 20th and 21st century music. They also specialize in improvisation and multimedia projects.
In the 2011-12 season, Mandhira has scheduled several performances within the UK and a busy schedule with her string quartet including tours in South-East China and Hong Kong.