Composer and violinist, Virginie Aster develops a musical style deeply rooted in artistic and cultural cross-disciplinary dialogue.
Her compositional work is founded on musical structure and architecture, bringing form and expression together in the service of emotion.
This exploration finds particular expression in Ève Noire, a stage musical work for violin and percussion born from several journeys across Africa – especially sub-Saharan Africa – where the composer traveled with her violin to meet African percussionists. From this musical and human experience emerged a creation that explores the encounter of cultures and timbres, the dialogue of languages, and the performer’s role.
Trained at the Paris Conservatory (CNSMD) and the École Normale de Musique, Virginie Aster earned several first prizes in violin, advanced solfège, harmony, and analysis. She studied musical composition with three Grand Prix de Rome winners – Christian Manen, Roger Boutry, and Claude Pascal – and simultaneously pursued her violin studies with Claire Bernard, Jean Mouillère, Igal Shamir, and Marie-Claude Theuveny.
Her first work, Sous Influences for solo violin (published by Billaudot), premiered at the Théâtre du Lucernaire in Paris in a stage production combining music, dance, and video. The internationally renowned violinist Alexander Markov hailed it as “simply a marvelous composition,” writing the preface for its publication.
Several of Virginie’s works were subsequently performed by renowned musicians and ensembles: Instants photographiques for solo viola (published by Billaudot), premiered by Anne-Aurore Anstett of the Paris Opera Orchestra and Olivier Marin; Turbulence(s) for violin and piano, which won the Music and the Sea Composition Prize at the World Festival of Underwater Images; and Substance for flute and string trio, commissioned by Ensemble Hélios. She also composed Les Enfants du Dragon , a musical tale for violin and narrator, conceived with the writer Sofia Martin.
Continuing this artistic exploration, Virginie Aster composed Street Music , a piece for solo violin (published by Billaudot) inspired by the energy of Street Art. The work, recorded by Éva Zavaro, was created during a performance at the Solid’Art fair in Paris, while the urban artist Jef Aérosol simultaneously created the stencil La petite violoniste (The Little Violinist ), designed to interact with Virginie’s music.
In this same relationship between music and visual arts, Virginie Aster composed Rêve haute tension for solo violin, a piece inspired by the eponymous work of the German painter Peter Klasen, a major figure of Narrative Figuration, who has said that he recognises his own painting in Virginie Aster’s musical language.
Several of Virginie Aster’s works are published by Billaudot .
Alongside her work as a composer and performer, Virginie Aster has developed an in-depth reflection on performance anxiety and stage presence in performing artists, aiming to help them perform at their best in public. Her book, * Le Trac ou l’art d’être en scène* (Stage Fright or the Art of Being on Stage ), published by Billaudot in March 2026, extends this research and teaching.
After teaching in various establishments (conservatories of Ozoir-la-Ferrière, Longjumeau, CRR of Paris), Virginie is currently an associate professor at the CNSMD of Paris; she also gives masterclasses and workshops in numerous artistic teaching structures around performance anxiety, stage presence and mediation.
Virginie teaches violin and viola privately in Issy-les-Moulineaux. She is the founder of the ArTransversal association.
Official website : www.aster-musique.com