B i o g r a p h y
Savitri combines her passion for chamber music with a love of making music on a large scale, and divides her time between performing with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Upcoming highlights include a tour of the USA with Kaleidoscope, and the release of their new CD of music by Renaldo Hahn in February 2025.
Born and raised in London, of mixed Indian/English heritage, Savitri has been based in Europe since 2017. She has held permanent Principal and Leader positions in the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, and most recently as Principal Second Violin of Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France in Paris. Savitri has been invited to Play/Direct with Kammerakademie Potsdam and Chineke! String Ensemble. She is in regular demand as Guest Leader with orchestras including Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and Orchestre National d’Île de France.
As a founding member of the critically-acclaimed Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Savitri performs a wide variety of captivating repertoire across the UK and beyond. Kaleidoscope is in residence as Associate Artists in London’s Wigmore Hall. Their CD recording of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor was released in May 2022 to great critical acclaim.
Further afield, Savitri collaborated with the renowned sarod players Amaan Ali and Ayaan Ali Bangash at The Times Swarsangam Music Festival in Bangalore, India, led a British Council chamber project in Qatar, given a series of recitals in China, and worked closely with a youth orchestra, within their community in Balanyá, Guatamala.
Savitri is regularly invited to chamber music festivals including IMS Prussia Cove and Krzyzowa Music in Poland, and has performed in venues including Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Laeiszhalle Hamburg. As soloist, Savitri has played with orchestras including the Budapest Festival, Qatar Philharmonic, Concerto Budapest, Royal Philharmonic, Bournemouth Symphony, English Chamber, London Mozart Players, Welsh National Opera, among many others. In 2019 she undertook a residency at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival performing the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas with pianist Richard Uttley.
Savitri is a graduate of Oxford University, the Guildhall School of Music & Drama London, and the Universität der Künste Berlin, where she studied with David Takeno and Nora Chastain. She was represented by the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) between 2015 and 2021.
Savitri plays on a Matteo Goffriller violin on generous loan from the Aidan Woodcock Charitable Trust.
"Grier's tone was sweet and elegant, and surprisingly mellow. She was wonderfully technically assured. She sang Elgar's line effortlessly but brought welcome flashes of temperament…[and] gave us a thoughtful, inward account of the concerto. Throughout she seemed at ease with the concerto's style so that its constant changes of metre and harmony flowed naturally and were never restless."
Planet Hugill / St John’s Smith Square - Elgar Concerto
"...a formidable violinist of full tone and strong personality."
Arcana - Ben Hogwood / Wigmore Hall
"...the highlight of the evening: an account of Chausson’s Poème for violin and orchestra, in which Savitri Grier was the wonderfully assured and lyrically poised soloist."
The Guardian / Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra / Norfolk & Norwich Festival
"When Savitri Grier performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Sinfonia of Birmingham under Michael Seal, it was her playing that took the spotlight - a deep, eloquent tone, making every line sing, and all delivered with remarkable poise and flair."
Birmingham Post / Birmingham Sinfonia - Sibelius Concerto