Rafael Font

ABOUT RAFAEL FONT

His improvised embellishments were constantly surprising and towards the end his manner definitely created some audible chuckles from around the audience. A very fine fiddler indeed.
AUDIENCE MEMBER

Rafael Font started his violin studies at the age of five in his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela.

After completing high school, Rafael moved to London to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he obtained a Bachelor in Music degree on violin under the tutelage of Jacqueline Ross, while also taking Baroque violin lessons with Pavlo Beznosiuk.

During his time in Europe, Rafael worked with many leading British early music groups including the Academy of Ancient Music, La Nuova Musica, La Serenisima, Poeticall Musicke and Charivari Agreable. He was also a participant in the Ann and Peter Law Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment Experience scheme. Rafael performed in many of the most important music venues of the UK including the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Barbican Hall, York Cathedral and St George’s Bristol under the baton of artists such as Sir Colin Davis, Marin Alsop, William Christie and Richard Egarr.

After obtaining his Bachelor in Music degree, Rafael pursued postgraduate studies in Baroque and classical violin at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague with teachers Kati Debretzeni and Walter Reiter. His main topic of research was the writing of cadenzas in Mozart’s violin concertos.

Rafael is a highly versatile performer, with interests ranging from XVII Monteverdi to XIX Tchaikovsky in both violin and viola.

Since moving to Sydney, Rafael performs regularly with Australia’s leading early music ensembles including the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, the Australian Haydn Ensemble and Salut! Baroque.

Rafael is also a dedicated music teacher, regularly tutoring violin and viola and conducting ensembles across several schools in Sydney.

Rafael is a founding member of the Muffat Collective, one of the most exciting new early music small ensembles in Sydney. The Muffat Collective was formed by four friends who met while studying in the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague, bringing bravura and historical style to the trio sonata repertoire of the XVII and XVIII centuries.

Biography: Rafael Font, 2020
Image Credit: Georges Antoni, 2019