Martin Balda

Martin Balda was born in 1989 in Mladá Boleslav. From an early age, he attended the local School of Arts, where he began studying the violin under the guidance of Josef Novák. Under his tutelage, Martin successfully took part in many competitions.

He continued his studies at the Prague Conservatoire in the class of Professor Jitka Nováková. During his time at the Conservatoire, he began to focus intensively on chamber music and, together with his fellow students, founded the Ančerl Quartet, which has now been performing together for eighteen years. Over the years, the quartet has taken part in several competitions and given numerous concerts both in the Czech Republic and abroad. He completed his studies at the Conservatoire in the class of Professor Pavel Kudelásek.

During his studies at the Conservatoire, he also took part several times in the masterclasses of Václav Hudeček in Luhačovice. He then continued at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU), where he studied in the bachelor’s programme with Professor Jindřich Pazdera, and completed his master’s degree under Professors Leoš Čepický and Jiří Panocha.

In 2014, Martin successfully auditioned for the Orchestral Academy of the Czech Philharmonic. After finishing his bachelor’s degree, the Ančerl Quartet decided to continue their studies in chamber music in the master’s programme at HAMU under Professor Jiří Panocha, which they successfully completed in 2016.

Martin plays a rare instrument dating from 1751, once owned by Professor Nora Grumlíková, made in the workshop of J. B. Guadagnini.