Shaping a Musical Future: Inside the Artistic Journey of Izabela Wiktoria Oliwia Torfs
- WOMCO
- May 28
- 5 min read
Izabela Wiktoria Oliwia Torfs has been a consistent top winner at the London Young Musician competition. She was ranked No. 1 in the World Top 50 Musicians in the 2022–2023 competition year, and continued her exceptional achievements by securing the No. 2 position in the recently concluded 2024–2025 competition year.
Could you tell us a bit about yourself, your music training journey, your goals for the future in music, and what do you enjoy in your free time?
I started violin when I was six, and composing when I was ten. I really love music, and I would like to be a professional violinist in the future. And, I also would really want to be a composer and conductor like, for example, John Williams. I really love reading books in my free time, especially horror (about demons, vampires, etc. (Darren Shan is my favorite author!)), but also about Star Wars (My favorite character is *Sith Lord Darth Vader*!!!). I do not like really videogames like minecraft, roblox etc., and I really hate social media (instagram, facebook, etc. (I only have whatsapp!)). My favorite subject is Mathematics.
Could you tell us more about your London Young Musician award-winning performances? How did you prepare for it, bring it to life, and were there any particular challenges or interesting stories from behind the scenes?
If I prepare for a performance I usually practice about 2 hours of violin per day, and for composition... Well then, I just have to be creative! I often get ideas while I am in bath, and we have a very big mirror in the bathroom that always steams up when I am in bath, and so when I have an idea I write it on the mirror with my finger, and then later when I am done, I re-write it onto paper. As for interesting stories, my cat was nearly always walking around my feet and then sleeping on a chair next to where I was practicing the violin. However, he died on September 20 in 2024, and I then made for him a memorial composition named "*Rest In Piece, Zulu - I will never forget you*". We buried him in our garden and made him a real grave; not made out of stones but flowers are on and around his grave and a memorial plate of wood is at the back of his grave.
What did a typical day of practice look like for you, and in what ways did your family support your musical journey?
I always practice next to the living room, and when I practice my violin, then if my mum has time (she mostly does have), she sits in the living room, and gives me comments on my violin every 5 seconds (sometimes I really get annoyed! 🤣🤣🤣), but it really does help. Thanks to my mum, I now play most things better than I would. I really am grateful to my mum.
How do you balance your time between training and schoolwork—especially while learning both composition and violin?
That is the only bad thing about being a musician; you have nearly no time, especially when tests are coming. Sometimes when I have very big tests (like my end of year exam of maths) the day before the test I then skip music so I can prepare, but next to such events I always practice my violin. Always when I get home I change my clothes (we have a school uniform) I do all the homework I have to do (if I have a test I study then for it) then dad or mum make dinner, and then I eat dinner and after dinner I do violin. And at the total end of the day I watch a bit of TV together with mum and dad (daily family time). And then I go to bed. That is mostly how my school days look like😅. But if I have, for example like last week, five big end-of-year assessments in one week, I only can do every day only a part of my violin, because otherwise I would stay up, at least, till 23:00. Last week was terrible!
Would you like to share your experience of participating in the London Young Musician competitions, and are there any individuals you’d like to thank?
I really liked to participate in the London Young Musician competitions. It was really fun to do. I also really liked the comments I got. I would really want to thank my parents and grandma because they always supported me and my music.
Is there anything else you would like to say to musicians and music enthusiasts around the world?
The only thing I would like to say to musicians and music enthusiasts around the world is that if you lose faith, if you think "I cannot do this!" then just press on! Nothing is impossible to do (except for being invincible and living forever, but that is another matter). You should always do your best and never give up.
Biography
Izabela Wiktoria Oliwia Torfs (Belgian/Polish) was born in 12.12.2012;
Violinist/Composer; she started playing the violin with S.Erkmenis in 2019. In 2022 A.Morozova also became her violin tutor. In September 2019, she began playing the piano with H.Keser.
Since April 2023 she started self-studying music theory. Because of that, she started composing; up till now she wrote more than 50 compositions. In September 2023, during a violin audition for the Conservatory of Amsterdam's Sweelinck Academy she was playing the Mozart concerto in G-Major (for violin and piano) with her own cadenza. J.van Driel became her violin tutor in the conservatory.
In 2024 she started playing the alto saxophone as a hobby, from S. Styles via the MusicSoulHouse music school. In January 2025, she also begun to play on the viola in the conservatory. Very recently, in order to improve her understanding of brass instruments and for sake of her composition journey, Izabela also decided to learn the trombone (just begun). Since the beginning of 2025 Enrico Ferri from MusicTutorOnline became Izabela’s composition teacher.
Izabela has given violin and piano concerts at famous concert halls like the Musikverein in Vienna, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Amphithéâtre Cité de la Musique-Philharmonie de Paris, and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. She has also been invited to perform at the Carnegie Hall in NYC, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, BP Hall in LA, the Studio Recital Hall and at the Centre for Fine Arts (Bozar) in Brussels, and recently invited to perform at the Tokyo Opera City Hall.
Latest awards:
Gold Prize for Fantasia in B-Dur, TWV 40:14, Allegro, G. Telemann + Romance, in G Major, J. Svendsen + W.H. Potstock - Souvenir de Sarasate (Fantasia Spagnole) violin performance in Talent: Age 10-13 in the European Strings & Voice Odyssey Awards 2025
First Prize for Fantasia in B-Dur, TWV 40:14, Allegro, G. Telemann + W.H. Potstock - Souvenir de Sarasate (Fantasia Spagnole) in Junior category in the Golden Classical Music Awards, 2025 Tokyo
Platinum Prize & Excellent Musicianship Special Prize for Romance, in G Major, J. Svendsen violin performance in Age 11-13 in the Erik Satie International Music Competition 2025, Season 2
Platinum Prize for W.H. Potstock Souvenir de Sarasate (Fantasia Spagnole) violin performance in Best Musician in Age 11-13 category in the Best Classical Musicians Awards 2025, Season 2
Gold Prize in Composition category in Age 12-18 for “Ab initio ad infinitum, Maleficus!” composition for violin + piano in the Global Best Creative Awards 2025, Season 1
Gold Prize - Original Composition category and Silver Prize - Chamber music category for “Exitium” composition for Violin-Viola player + Piano in the London Young Musician, LYM 24-25, Season 4
Gold Prize, - Age 11-12 category and Gold Prize in Modern category for “The Twelfth Star” (Dwunasta Gwiazdka) composition for flute, Glockenspiel, Violin, and Piano in the London Young Musician, LYM 24-25, Season 4
First Place with Special Honours and Distinction Plus and Story Through Sound Award for "Rest In Peace, Zulu, I will never forget you..." composition for orchestra in the 21st Century Talents Music Competition, Winter 2025.
