Ralitsa Tcholakova - 🇨🇦 Canada

Violinist

Ralitsa Tcholakova is an internationally renowned, Ottawa-based violin and viola player. She is currently a violin and viola instructor at the City of Ottawa, Carleton University and Canada Music Academy. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras at chamber music series and festivals in over 25 countries. She was nominated for the Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2018. In 2017, she was nominated for the Governor General Persons Case Award. Ralitsa has recorded many highly acclaimed albums, including “Ballad of the North”, an album featuring music by Canadian female composers and distributed by SOCAN to 135 radio stations worldwide. 

For her CD “Remembered Voices” released under Carleton University label Carleton Sound, Ralitsa collaborated with Dr.Elaine Keillor, appointed to the Order of Canada. The CD is praised as  “An excellent CD” by the Whole Note magazine.

Her CD, “Aboriginal Inspirations” featuring multiple Grammy winner Ron Korb is promoted nationally and internationally by the Canadian Music Centre and NAXOS. Since 2015, Ralitsa has performed annual recitals at the Parliament of Canada. 

During the pandemic, Ralitsa participated online in local and international festivals. In 2021 she Performed at the National  Prayer Breakfast, a yearly event held under the combined authority of the Speakers of the Senate and the House of Commons.

In 2022 she premiered a composition Prayer for Peace commissioned for her by Evelyn Stroobach at the Laureate Gala at Carnegie Hall. 

Ralitsa plays on a custom-made violin especially for her by the luthiers of Kremona, Bulgaria, a copy of Stradivarius Oppenheim 1716.