Luka Coetzee

2024 Bio

Acclaimed by Fanfare Magazine as “tonally, technically, and musically superb,” Canadian cellist Luka Coetzee (b. 2004) made her solo debut at age eleven with the Calgary Civic Symphony.

In 2022, Luka won first place at the Pablo Casals International Awards. That same year, she also received the Frans Helmerson Promotional Award at the Kronberg Academy and performed as soloist with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. She took second place as well as the special prize of the jury at the Eighth Dotzauer International Competition for Young Cellists. In the same month, Luka performed with the National Philharmonic Orchestra as the first prize winner of the Ninth Johansen International Strings Competition in Washington, DC.

As a member of the LGT Young Soloists, Luka has performed in numerous concert halls around the world including Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Berlin Philharmonie, the Tonhalle in Zurich, Victoria Hall in Singapore, the Rheingau Musik Festival, and at the Woordfees Festival in Stellenbosch, South Africa. In January 2020 Luka recorded and premiered a new arrangement of the Beethoven A major Cello Sonata on NAXOS at the Teldex Studio in Berlin. She has also worked with distinguished guest artists and string quartets including Frans Helmerson, Claudio Bohorquez, Danjulo Ishizaka, Johannes Moser, Hans Jorgen Jensen, Laurence Lesser, the Calidore String Quartet, and the Schumann Quartet.

At the age of one, Luka had her first cello lesson with Christine Bootland. Her previous mentors include John Kadz, Johanne Perron, and Horacio Contreras. Luka also started playing piano at the age of three and finished the Royal Conservatory of Music ARCT diploma piano exam with First Class Honours under the instruction of Derek Chiu. She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in cello performance at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. 

2018 Bio

Cellist Luka Coetzee cannot remember a time when she did not play music. Born into a musical family, she began playing cello as a toddler on a full-size viola with an endpin inserted in it. Luka has won numerous awards and competitions, and is a student of the Honours Academy for Gifted Youth of Mount Royal University Conservatory. She placed with First Class Honours in the grade 10 Royal Conservatory of Music exam in both cello and piano. Her cello instructors have included Christine Bootland, John Kadz and Johanne Perron, and Derek Chiu provides instruction in piano. She has performed in countries including Germany, Austria, the United States of America, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jakarta, Canada, and South Africa, and is a member of the Three Sisters Trio along with her talented siblings Mari and Ine.

When not playing music, Luka enjoys dancing, swimming, running, reading, and playing with her puppy, Lacie.

2018
Luka plays the High River stage as a Young Musician Extraordinaire

2017
On March 4th, Luka performs at the Rising Stars concert in Canmore
She attends the four-week Indiana Strings Summer Program, winning the concerto competition
At the gala concert, she plays Vivaldi’s double cello concerto alongside Elliot Sloss, backed by a chamber orchestra comprised of faculty

2016
As a winner of the Calgary Concert Competition, she performs as a soloist with the Calgary Civic Symphony
She wins first prize in the Canadian Music Competition National Finals
Luca is awarded a scholarship from the Canimex Group for her outstanding performance in the age 11-14 strings category