Pauline van der Rest

Born in 2004, Belgian violinist Pauline van der Rest is currently studying at the Kronberg Academy under the tutelage of Janine Jansen, with additional mentorship from Gidon Kremer. She has previously studied with Igor Tkatchouk and Boris Garlitsky.

A prizewinner at numerous international competitions, Pauline has won first prizes at the Grumiaux Competition, the Odessa International Competition, the Classic Academy of Liège, and the Honda Competition. She also received second prize at the Louis Spohr International Competition in Weimar and was a semi-finalist at both the Montreal International Musical Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Competition.
In May 2026, Pauline was selected to join the roster of the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) at the YCAT Live Final Auditions at Wigmore Hall in London.

As a soloist, she has performed at internationally renowned venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Flagey and Bozar in Brussels, the Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, Laeiszhalle Hamburg and the Moscow International House of Music, while appearing at festivals such as Helsinki Festival, Bologna Festival, Kronberg Festival, Stresa Festival, Internationaal Kamermuziek Festival Utrecht, Sion Festival, Chamber Music Connects the World, Auvers-sur-Oise Festival, and Elba Isola Musicale d’Europa.
She has collaborated with leading ensembles including Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn and Kremerata Baltica, and is deeply committed to chamber music, performing with distinguished artists such as Timothy Ridout, Janine Jansen, Sunwook Kim, Tabea Zimmerman and Torleif Thedéen.

Pauline currently plays a 1783 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin, generously loaned by a member of the Stretton Society.