Achievements
Born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Vlad Hontila began playing the
violin at the age of 7. His father, a renowned violinist in the
Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra, discovered his gift for
music. Vlad soon enrolled in the Gheorghe Dima Music
Conservatory under the tutelage of Béres Melinda. In the
following years, Vlad participated in various national competitions
and olympiads in which he received many awards. In 2014, he
performed Mozart’s Concerto No. 4 with the Transylvania State
Philharmonic Orchestra. The following year, he was invited to
perform Wieniawski’s Polonaise in D major with the orchestra.
In 2015, he was awarded the “President’s International String
Quartet Scholarship”, a full scholarship that brought him to the
United States to complete his Bachelor’s degree in music
performance at Western Illinois University, under the guidance of
Dr. Julieta Mihai. For the four years he spent there, Vlad held the
Concertmaster seat for both the Chamber and Symphony
Orchestras. He also performed movements from the Sibelius and
Saint-Saëns concertos with the school’s Symphony Orchestra, as
well as many Baroque concerti with the Chamber Orchestra.
Vlad was awarded Manhattan School of Music’s prestigious
“Robert Mann Endowed Scholarship for Violin and Chamber
Studies,” a full scholarship that allowed him to move to New York
City to study with Lucie Robert. Following the completion of his
Master’s degree at MSM, Vlad was accepted into the school’s
Professional Studies program and stayed at the school for an
additional year. In his three years at MSM, Vlad was chosen as
Concertmaster for various cycles and performances under
maestro George Manahan. He also studied chamber music with
Peter Winograd and Nicholas Mann and won the Lilian Fuchs
Chamber Music Competition with two different groups. In the
summer of 2022, Vlad was awarded the Kraeuter Musical
Foundation Award for excellence in chamber music performance.