Bio

Ànnika is internationally recognized as an acclaimed young artist and celebrated scholar-musician. She is the recipient of numerous national and international prizes. In 2013, Ànnika was named a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts and was presented with the Congressional Award Gold Medal at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C in 2019. She was awarded top Instrumental Prizewinner of the International Richard Strauss Competition held in Salzburg, Austria. InterHarmony International Music Festival (Germany & Italy) awarded her both the Bach and Tchaikovsky Performance Awards for “Extraordinary Artistry.” A multi-instrumentalist, Ànnika was awarded the Paderewski Gold Medal for piano performance by the American College of Musicians/Piano Guild National. Additionally, she holds a Certificate of Music Performance in Singing from Trinity College London-Guildhall School of Music. An award-winning writer and poet, Ànnika has numerous published works, including journal writing in the League of American Orchestras’ Symphony Magazine.

Ànnika has performed in recital and with orchestras throughout the United States, including Hawaii; and internationally, in Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium, Georgia, Spain, Prague, Russia, Iceland, and the U.K.  In the U.S., she has performed as a soloist at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the United Nations in New York. In Europe/Eurasia, she has served as Concertmaster of numerous international festival orchestras and has performed at the Konzerthaus, Haydnsaal, Solitär/Bösendorfersaals Universität Mozarteum Salzburg, DeHandelsbeurs, Alobrandeschi Castle, TBC Gallery, Palacio de Deportes, Mariinsky Theatre, The Great Hall - Moscow Conservatory, and at the BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall. In 2012, she performed at World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain, a week celebration with more than two million visitors centered around Pope Benedict XVI. She performed at a private dinner reception for 65 U.S. Bishops and at daily concerts, each with audiences of over 12,000 guests at the Palacio de Deportes.

Ànnika has appeared live on NPR’s “From the Top,” CBS-6 “Virginia This Morning,” and the CBS Evening News Special. She was a featured first violinist in Carnegie Hall’s inaugural National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, for which she was selected to be interviewed, followed by a film crew, and showcased in a documentary chronicling the international tour led by Maestro Valery Gergiev with Grammy Award-winning soloist Joshua Bell. Ànnika was highlighted in The Wall Street Journal and cast as a performer and speaker in the PBS documentary BECOMING AN ARTIST.

At age 10, Ànnika gave a passionate speech and performance before Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf and the Virginia Beach City Council that won support for building a new performing arts center in her hometown. The dream was realized on November 3, 2007 when, center stage of the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, she was presented the Key to the City by Mayor Oberndorf at the Opening Night Gala performance by legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Ànnika was an All Honors graduate of The Juilliard School Pre-College Division and recipient of the 2013 Commencement Award. Following graduation, she was accepted as a scholarship student into the College Division and, further, admitted into the Juilliard-Columbia Exchange Program. Additionally, she was selected for the Juilliard Leadership Program and awarded The Juilliard School Gluck Community Fellowship. At graduation, Ànnika was one of five students awarded a “Bachelor of Music with Academic Honors” degree. Most recently, she received her master’s degree in International Relations - National Security from Harvard University.

Ànnika’s story is in a genre of its own. From artistically arranging, recording, and producing her own version of favorite works under her personal label ©Fire & Reign Records to writing, composing, and performing her original creations, she is a musical force of the times. Ànnika is currently under contract as a performing artist and first violinist of the Listeso Quartet through the leading global live-entertainment discovery platform Fever.

Story Highlight: In addition to being a world-wide performing artist, Ànnika is a professional canine trainer and behavior specialist. She received her dual training certification through the Animal Behavior Institute in Durham, North Carolina. Her areas of study and expertise include canine behavior, psychology, emotions, enrichment, health, and nutrition. Inspired by her first German Shepherd, Samson Soldato, Ànnika created her own training curriculum for Basic to Advanced Obedience classes and specialized behavioral modification termed Training the Bulletproof K9. Ànnika’s love of working dogs began at a young age after attending a law enforcement K9 demonstration. After earning her master’s degree, she underwent training as a Search and Rescue K9 handler with her German Shepherd partner, Noble Valkyrie. Ànnika combines her passion for the arts and love of animals to study the benefits of music on the canine psyche. She enjoys preparing and travelling for concerts with her shepherd by her side.

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Updated February 2025