Natálie Kulina (1996) is a Czech violinist based in the Netherlands, specialising in contemporary music, chamber music, new media, innovative programming of classical music and interdisciplinary projects.
In 2024, Natálie is working on premiering a new work for violin and electronics by composer Peter-Jan Wagemans, among other collaborative projects in the electroacoustic music sphere.
Since 2023, she is one of the Rizoom network makers and as such developed an audiovisual installation performance, together with Amarante Nat, Naida Amorim and Arieh Chrem, aiming to capture one’s inner monologue, explore cognitive dissonance and interactions with the outside world in the context of cyclical motions; such as those present in complex traumatic events and recovery processes. Gently, it implies questions about boundaries, social/digital voyeurism and perspective curation, as well as our individual and collective responsibilities towards one another.
"When creating my own projects, I like to explore my background and cultural heritage and share personal stories with the listeners. I find it important, as a performer, to use my opportunities to amplify the interesting and lesser known bodies of work from underrepresented artists or communities, too; I like to confront and contextualise my own experiences with those of others. I am interested in the contrasts and similarities in our individual identities and cultures: how we deal with the past, as well as the current social, political and environmental challenges. I believe art is our best chance at processing our time in the world, hoping to use the strength of vulnerability to create something that contributes to finding solace and common ground in a world that often prioritises divisions and power struggles over genuine emotions and connections."
Since 2021, she is a member of Ensemble Resilience, an innovative collective of musicians that aims to bring a new concept of sound to the contemporary music world. Since 2022 she regularly works as a leader / concertmaster with the Doelen Ensemble in Rotterdam.
Natálie is currently also co-creating music for violin and electronics, together with Arieh Chrem, as Duo Replica. Their latest project 'Intimate Letters: A Polyptych' is a reimagininging of the second string quartet by Leoš Janáček for violin and electronics.
Natálie mostly focuses on music, literature, and audiovisual art of the last hundred or so years, new works and research in contemporary arts accessibility, however she enjoys performing 'traditional' classical music too, and has branched out into historically informed performance in some of her past projects.
Together with Portuguese violinist Francisca Portugal, she explores the surprising possibilities of a violin duo as Grimm Duette - by creating new arrangements of chamber or orchestral pieces, as well as commissioning new music and finding ways to use ensemble as small as eight strings in educational purposes and non-traditional environments.
Alongside her performing work, Natálie served as a curator for the Echoes of Nothing series, developing side programming for Muziekgebouw aan't IJ between 2020-2022 and has been invited as a guest curator for Sunday Sounds series in Muziekgebouw aan't IJ for the 2023-2024 season.
Growing up in a family of visual artists and in the culturally abundant region of South Moravia, Natálie's cultivated interest in a wide array of art forms from an early age, eventually choosing to focus her studies on music.
She previously studied at the Brno conservatory with the first violin of the Janáček Quartet, Miloš Vacek, graduated her bachelor's degree in the class of the renowned soloist Ilya Grubert and earned her masters degree with specialisation in new music with Eliot Lawson and Heleen Hulst at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. She drew knowledge and artistic inspiration from masterclasses and collaborations with musicians such as Jiří Bělohlávek, Hubert Kroisamer, Alexandra Soumm, Milan Vitek, Ed Spanjaard, Anne Sophie Mutter, Josef Špaček, Per Enoksson or Ilya Gringolts, among many others.
Although she has since childhood performed recitals in several European countries and made appearances as a soloist with orchestras (Filharmonie Brno, Moravian Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonica Tenerife, Filharmonija Zielonogorska, Orquestra Vigo 430, to name a few), she has now established herself as a chamber musician, performing in venues such as Concertgebouw Amsterdam (Kleine Zaal, 2022 in works of Samuel Adams), Muziekgebouw aan't IJ, Korzo Den Haag, De Doelen Rotterdam, Tivoli Vredenburg, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven (among others) and leading, participating, or being invited as a guest in various ensembles (INSOMNIO, Doelen Ensemble,...) projects (Min Oh's film 'Attendee', MAAT saxophone quartet's album 'Ciudades',...) and festivals (Minimal Music Festival Amsterdam, Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Gaudeamus Festival, etc.) and is quickly gathering attention as a fresh performer of (not only) contemporary music.
Natálie plays a violin from Czech luthier Tomáš Pilař and an electric five string violin from Czech company NS, acquired with the generous help of Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument.