Valerie Ettenauer (*2004) is an austrian violinist currently establishing herself on the international classical music scene. Recent highlights include serving as concertmaster at the Cosmopolis Opera Festival in Greece, and a personal collaboration with composer Dai Fujikura that led to a recording of his string quartet Aquarius by Bayerischer Rundfunk. Ettenauer began playing the violin at the age of five and was accepted into the talent development program of the Province of Lower Austria at eleven, where she studied with Alexandra Ruth Rappitsch.

Her musical education has been enriched through masterclasses with Daniel Gaede, Maxim Brilinsky, Thomas Fheodoroff, Cihat Askin, and Herbert Greenberg. Since 2022, she has been studying under Hildegard Wind at the University of Music in Nuremberg. She has received several international awards, including 2nd Prize at the Ilona Féher International Violin Competition in Budapest under the chairmanship of Shlomo Mintz, 1st Prize and a special award at the Váša Příhoda Competition in the Czech Republic, the Young Artist Award from the capital of Lower Austria, and 1st Prize at the International Oskar Rieding Violin Competition in Slovenia.

As a soloist, she made her orchestral debut at age 14 with the Animae Musicae Chamber Orchestra in Budapest, followed by further concerto performances in Zagreb and Slovenia. Ettenauer is also an active chamber musician. As a former founding member of the Benigna Quartet, she was awarded 1st Prize at the Danubia Talents International Competition in Vienna and became a two-time national prizewinner at prima la musica, Austria’s most renowned youth music competition.

The ensemble was invited on a national concert tour by the Jeunesse Start-Up program, performed at the Grafenegg Festival, toured to Rome, and was repeatedly engaged by the Mozartgemeinde Niederösterreich to curate full-length concert programs. Since 2022, she has been embracing the opportunity to explore a wide range of chamber music formations at the University of Music in Nuremberg. Valerie Ettenauer was invited to the orchestra academy of the Vienna Philharmonic (IOIA) and toured with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. Currently, she serves as concertmaster of the Quarta 4 Länder Youth Philharmonic and has performed in major venues such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Cologne Philharmonie, Festspielhaus Bregenz, Meistersingerhalle Nuremberg, and internationally in Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.