Arina Kuchmina (1998) is a Saint-Petersburg born viola player and singer based in Amsterdam.
She performs with orchestras and chamber ensembles and collaborates on classical music recordings. She frequently works with pop and jazz musicians, arranging and playing string parts.
Arina studied with Teemu Kupiainen at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. In 2018, she moved to the Netherlands to continue her studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Richard Wolfe and Marjolein Dispa.
Since 2020, Arina studies jazz vocals at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. In 2023, she joined the jazz vocal program to continue her studies with Sanna van Vliet, Wiebe-Pier Cnossen and Lydia van Dam.
In addition to her performance and teaching activities as a violist, Arina writes and arranges her own music, and records vocals for other artists. Currently, she is working on her first EP, a project that blends her classical music training and arrangement skills with her love for Motown Records and Wall of Sound productions of the 60s.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2023/2024 — studied jazz vocals at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam
2023 — graduated from the class of Marjolein Dispa at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam
2019 — Arina plays Jan Van Der Elst Viola (1997) provided by Het Muziekinstrumentenfonds (read more here)
2018/2019 — studied with Richard Wolfe at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam as a part of her Erasmus program
2018 — played as a section leader in the Berliner Philharmoniker’s BE PHIL Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle
2016 — started her bachelor studies at the Sibelius Academy with Teemu Kupiainen
Kuhmo festival
Järna festival
Valdres festival
Open House Philharmonie Berlin
Bevrijdingspop Haarlem
Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 25 by Nikola Meeuwsen and ARS MUSICA (2024)
Mr. Brown by Melqui, string arrangements and performance (TBA in 2025)
Gorrión by Melqui (Your Smile, s'il vous plaît), string arrangements and performance (2023)
Bach concerti for two pianos - BWV1060, 1061 with Anto Bayram and Gregor Dešman (2022)
3 CDs with "Vasilievskiy Ostrov" chamber orchestra
Nobuko Imai
Michael Kugel
Lili Maijala
Maxim Rysanov
Yuvan Gotlibovich
Barbara Buntrock
Yura Lee
Veit Hertenstein
Daniel Bard
Razvan Popovici
Meta4 quartet
Danel quartet