Vineta Sareika joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2026 as Concertmaster of the orchestra.

Latvian violinist Vineta Sareika’s multifaceted career spans a wide range of activities, from soloist to orchestra concertmaster, primaria of the Artemis Quartet, professor, and jury member. Laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition in 2009 and recipient of several Echo Classic Awards, Vineta Sareika was the first woman to hold the First Concertmaster position in the history of the Berlin Philharmonic. In autumn 2026, she began a new chapter in her career as Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition to her concert activities, Sareika teaches chamber music at the Universität der Künste Berlin and serves as a jury member in the most prestigious violin and chamber music competitions worldwide. Vineta Sareika plays an Antonio Stradivari violin (1683), generously on loan to her from the Ruggieri Foundation.

A native of Jurmala, Latvia, Vineta Sareika began her violin studies at the age of 5 in her native city with Ojārs Ēriks Kalniņš, Haviva Dimenšteine, and Anete Zvaigzne. She studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris with Gérard Poulet and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with Augustin Dumay. Sareika has attended the master classes of, among others, Ida Haendel, Ivry Gitlis, Zakhar Bron, Mauricio Fuks, and Sergej Krylov.

Since becoming a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2009, Sareika has been invited to perform as a soloist by renowned orchestras such as the London Philharmonia, Belgian National Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, and London Chamber Orchestra. She has worked with conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Paavo Järvi, Paul Goodwin, Gilbert Varga, Jean-Bernard Pommier, and Gérard Korsten on famous stages like Carnegie Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, City Recital Hall in Sydney, Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Wigmore Hall in London, the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, and Izumi Hall in Osaka.

Vineta Sareika received the Award of the Ministry of Culture as well as the Excellence Award in Latvia, was named several times the Instrumentalist of the Year by the Latvian Radio, and was honored with the Great Music Award, the most prestigious cultural award in the country.

Since 2012, Vineta Sareika has been the primaria of the Artemis Quartet, which is currently on a break. Laureat of international prizes and member of the Verein Beethoven-Haus of Bonn, the Artemis Quartet has performed in main concert venues around the world; produced its own concert series at the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Munich Prinzregententheater; and recorded exclusively for Warner Classics.

Since 2006 Sareika has performed regularly with the French pianist Amandine Savary, forming a permanent ensemble based on a strong friendship as well as a common devotion to chamber music and the vast duo repertoire. They were both founding members of Trio Dali, in which a productive seven-year-long collaboration led to success in competitions in New York, Osaka, Frankfurt, and Vienna; two recordings for Fuga Libera, which were highly acclaimed (Diapason d’Or, Choc of the Year of Classica, Editor's Choice of Gramophone), and successful concerts worldwide.

Vineta Sareika also collaborates with artists and ensembles such as Augustin Dumay, Iveta Apkalna, Florian Boesch, Michel Portal, Alexander Lonquich, Gautier Capuçon, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Peter Donohoe, Quatuor Ébène, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Paul Watkins, Lawrence Power, and Paul Meyer.

Vineta Sareika made history as the first woman to serve as First Concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, a position she held from 2023 until 2025, when she chose to leave the orchestra in order to pursue a new artistic chapter. Beginning with the 2026/27 season, she serves as Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

She is regularly invited as guest concertmaster by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Dresden Philharmonic, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, and the Brussels Philharmonic. From 2010 to 2013, she was the Principal Concertmaster of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra.

Vineta Sareika has taught chamber music at the Universität der Künste Berlin since 2013. In 2024 she became an honorary professor of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music. From 2013 to 2020 she was Master in Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. She has given master classes at the Sydney and Melbourne Conservatories, London Royal Academy of Music, Nashville’s Vanderbilt University, Jerusalem Music Center, HMT Leipzig, ProQuartet — European Centre for Chamber Music, Academy of Music in Krakow, and Weikersheim International Chamber Music course. She is invited to serve as a jury member at competitions such as the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition, ARD International String Quartet Competition, Geneva International Chamber Music Competition, Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China, and the Maestra International Conducting Competition in Paris.