The world-famous British violinist Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson was born on October 27, 1978 in Singapore, into a mixed family with a Chinese mother and a Thai-English father. She began playing the piano when she was 3 years old.
When she was 4 years old, her parents divorced and she moved to live in London with her mother and her new husband, lawyer Graham Nicholson. He insisted that she start taking violin lessons, as he was a violinist and dreamed of Vanessa accompanying him on the violin.
Later, Vanessa Mae went to China to perfect her technique under the guidance of the prestigious local professor Lin Yao-tzu. At the age of 10, she gave her first concert as a soloist, accompanied by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and received a violin made by the Italian master Giuseppe Guadagnini as a gift from her parents.
Her innate talent was noticed by the director of the Royal College of Music, who immediately attracted her as a student. In 1994, Vanessa graduated from the college and 2 years later signed a contract with EMI Group to record both classical and pop music.
In 1995, armed with an electric violin Zeta, Vanessa May recorded her first album, entitled “The Violin Player”. This album highlights her style, which she calls techno-acoustic synthesis. The themes of “The Violin Player” were developed in collaboration with Mike Batt, an expert in instrumental pop music. The almost 3 million copies sold brought her not only big profits, but also invitations to perform in live concerts all over the world.
In 1998, Vanessa participated in joint projects with various groups and artists, including the Backstreet Boys and Janet Jackson, and made her debut as a model.
The same year, she released a new pop album, entitled “Storm”. In 2000, Vanessa performed at the Royal Albert Hall, where, accompanied by Vasko Vassilev, she performed a version of “Storm” at the opening ceremony of the Classical Brit Awards.
In 2014, Vanessa May competed in the giant slalom for Team Thailand at the Sochi Winter Olympics.
