THE SCHOLARSHIP HOLDERS
Violoncello
Charlotte Melkonian
Charlotte Melkonian, born in 2013, began playing the cello at the age of four and received her first cello lessons at the Cello Academy Hamburg and the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan, Armenia.
In addition, she has attended masterclasses with, among others, Prof. Philippe Muller, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Prof. Jens Peter Maintz, and Prof. David Geringas.
She regularly participates in Prof. David Geringas’s masterclasses and is mentored by him.
Charlotte has been a junior student at the Berlin University of the Arts in Prof. Jens Peter Maintz’s cello class since 2023.
She has won first prizes in numerous national and international competitions, including:
1st Prize with full marks at Jugend Musiziert in the categories Cello Solo, Chamber Music Duo, and Trio
1st Prize and Special Prize from the European Friends of Berlin at the International Young Ludwig Competition in Berlin in 2022
1st Prize with distinction at the Hamburg Instrumental Competition in 2022
1st Prize at the International Geringas Cello Competition in Klaipėda, Lithuania, in 2023
1st Prize at the 1st Grunewald International Music Competition Berlin 2024 Charlotte was awarded the Chamber Music Encouragement
Prize by the Jugend Musiziert Lower Saxony Foundation.
She is also a scholarship recipient at the Liechtenstein Music Academy, where she regularly participates in intensive workshops and activities.
Charlotte is one of the youngest scholarship recipients of the German Music Life Foundation. At the 2026 competition of the German Musical Instrument Fund, she won a cello by Stefano Scarampella from Mantua, dating from around 1900. In addition, she was awarded the Dr. Alexander Sikorski Scholarship from the German Music Life Foundation.
Charlotte’s concert activities include, among others: performances as a soloist at the Laeiszhalle and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, at the Tonhalle in Düsseldorf, at the Sommerliche Musiktage in Hitzacker, at the Kammermusiktage in Hohenems, as well as solo performances with the NDR Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Konzerthaus Hannover, with the Bavarian State Orchestra in Munich, with the Sion Festival Orchestra at the Sion Violon Festival, with the Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, and under the baton of Prof. David Geringas at the Berlin Philharmonie.
In 2024, Charlotte made her debut at Carnegie Hall as a soloist with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s New York.
In December 2025, she performed again as a soloist at the Laeiszhalle and the Elbphilharmonie. In addition, in early December she performed as a soloist with the Baltic Sea Philharmonic on a concert tour with appearances at venues including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Liederhalle Stuttgart, the Georg Friedrich Händel Halle in Halle, and the HCC Hannover.
At the program presentation for the “Heidelberger Frühling” Festival and at the IFF anniversary concert in Hannover in 2025, Charlotte performed in a duo with Igor Levit.
In March 2026, she performed a duo recital with pianist Elisabeth Brauß at the “Heidelberger Frühling” festival.
Since 2026, Charlotte has been the youngest scholarship recipient of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.
In June 2026, Charlotte will perform as a soloist at the “Concert for Humanity” benefit concert with the Kiev Symphony Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie.
Under the baton of Robert Trevino, Charlotte will open the Usedom Music Festival in September 2026.
She will also perform at this year’s Gezeiten Festival.
