Violinist Sarah Bayens was chosen for the period January 2019 – December 2021
Sarah Bayens started to play the violin at the age of 5. For her, playing the violin was always fun and never a chore, so motivation was always on hand to keep her going to the next level. From a very young age, she knew that she wanted nothing more than to study music, which today she is still doing with Shirly Laub at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles.
Up until the YBT finals, Sarah had never been one for competitions, having only ever taken part in Princess Christina Concours, where she won an incentive prize. However, that first competition gave her even more energy to continue with the violin and to take part in activities that would bring her in front of a new public.
Today, Sarah has been the leader, or concert meister for a number of orchestras, including the Euregion Youth Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra Flanders. She has performed with the Brussels Philharmonic and is part of the Quator Aleydis quartet, playing alongside Maxime De Petter and Joachim Jamaer. She is also a member of ‘Young Belgian Strings’, and has appeared on national television in several interviews and as one of ‘the six’ junior presenters, covering the last Queen Elizabeth violin competition.
“What I find important when I play concerts is to really connect with people, to bring them into my world and to engage with them on several levels: musical, emotional and intellectual. A completely successful concert, for me, is when someone comes up to me afterwards saying that through my playing, they have become more stimulated to listen to classical music. “
– Sarah Bayens –