Dalina Ugarte
Born in Valencia, Venezuela, is a versatile violinist who has explored a wide range of musical realms. She has a strong passion for multidisciplinary, innovative, and creatively fresh artistic projects.
In 2018, driven by the vision of reimagining the Venezuelan soundscape, she co-founded the Tocuyito Trio, an ensemble that blends the classical music tradition with the folklore of her homeland. The trio has performed at renowned Austrian venues, including the Wiener Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, Stiftung Mozarteum, as well as at festivals such as Kultursommer Wien.
During the 2023/24 season, Tocuyito Trio was the Jeunesse Featured Ensemble, which led to a concert tour across Austria, performances for young audiences and a live recording for ORF Kids. The trio is particularly proud to collaborate with the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now organization and will debut its first album with a release concert at the ORF Radiokulturhaus in autumn 2024.
A significant aspect of Dalina's artistic work involves developing staged concerts. In collaboration with pianist Joseph Avila, she co-founded Bululú, a duo dedicated to creating innovative concert experiences for audiences of all ages. Bululú has already been featured as a guest ensemble in various productions for young audiences, including Triolino at Porgy and Bess, mini.music at Brucknerhaus Linz and Allez Hop at the Wiener Konzerthaus. Additionally, the duo has produced its own music videos and staged concerts, such as Selfportrait, Der Zauberkoffer and tränen/lachen.
In 2020, Dalina participated in the Jeunesse-Oorkaan Academy, and since then, she has gained valuable experience working alongside directors, choreographers, theater creators and mimes. Together with her trio and stage director Caecilia Thunnissen, they created Cambúr Pin-Ton (Viva Banana), a staged concert inspired by Venezuela’s rich culture, legends, landscapes and popular traditions. The production was nominated for the Young Audience Music Award (Norway) in the “Best Small Ensemble” category.
Over the years, Dalina has been invited to participate in various modern, interdisciplinary and intercultural projects, such as Pool of Invention, Black Page Orchestra, Ensemble Wiener Collage and Synesthetic Project. These collaborations have led her to perform in festivals like Allegro Vivo, Mozartwoche, Unsafe+Sounds and Printemps des Nefs.
Dalina is co-founder of Orinoco Azul, an ensemble devoted to celebrating Venezuelan popular music and its Afro-Caribbean influences.
She was recently invited by Aleksey Igudesman to join The Limitless Orchestra, which made an outstanding world debut at the Dubai Opera alongside Hans Zimmer.
In addition to her passion for music, Dalina is an avid nature lover and believes that music and nature can go hand in hand. In 2022, she became a certified hiking guide through VAVÖ (Verband alpiner Vereine Österreichs) and organized her first Wanderkonzert to benefit Meals4Hope, a non-profit organization that develops and supports community programs for child nutrition and recovery in impoverished areas of Venezuela. A new series of Wanderkonzerte is scheduled to launch in spring 2025.
Dalina has had the privilege of studying with renowned masters such as Gernot Winischhofer, Nicolas Koeckert, Ida Haendel, Vadim Repin, Maxim Vengerov and Zakhar Bron. She is also a former prize winner at the Ysaÿe, Beethoven, and Padova international violin competitions, among others.
She moved to Vienna in 2012 to start her Bachelor’s studies at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität. In 2015, she took part in an Erasmus exchange program at the University of Applied Sciences in Turku, Finland. She then earned her Master’s degree at Mozarteum Salzburg in 2019 under the guidance of Benjamin Schmid.
Thereafter, Dalina is regularly invited to join the violin section of Camerata Salzburg, performing at some of the world's most prestigious venues and festivals with major chamber music and orchestral repertoire.