On my perfect weekend off...
I take my family somewhere out of town, whether it's a beach, a wildlife park or even a restaurant outside of our regular area of habitat.
The instrument I play is...
... is a beautiful 1590 brothers Amati violin that is on loan to me from the ACO Instrument Fund.
Playing it is a kind of “dream come true” for me as I always dreamt to play an instrument made by one of the three most famous Cremonese families: Amati, Guarneri or Stradivari.
It has a beautiful effortless velvety tone. It is the second oldest instrument in the Orchestra after Max’s Da Salo bass and only 10 years older than my personal violin by Marcin Groblicz, which I now play whenever we play on gut strings.
If I hadn't become a professional musician...
I probably would have become a computer engineer. I love everything to do with technology and computers in particular! Sometimes I’m able to help my friends in the orchestra with any technological challenges and questions they have. Some even call me “Dr. Ilya” because of that.
