Ioana Petcu-Colan

Ioana Petcu-Colan smiles at the camera from behind the neck of a violin, which perfectly disects her face. Violin

Subject Taught
Faculty/Dept

Leader of the Ulster Orchestra, Ioana Petcu-Colan was appointed to the RIAM String Faculty in 2024 and primarily teaches violin, drawing on her extensive experience as soloist, chamber musician, orchestral leader and violinist/artist in wider creative contexts. A second study in Baroque Violin, combined with a keen interest in championing new work, adds to Ioana’s broad breadth of stylistic awareness and expertise, crucial for a versatile professional musician in today’s world. 

On both modern and period instruments, Ioana has performed a considerable number of solo works with orchestra, including many of the great concertos, as well as shorter works and more contemporary offerings from composers such as Philip Glass, John Tavener and Arvo Pärt. Ioana’s recording of the Bruch Violin Concerto with the RTÉCO continues to get regular airplay on Lyric FM, and her performance of Ian Wilson’s third violin concerto ‘Sullen Earth’ with the Ulster Orchestra was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.

Ioana has toured Europe, the US, South America and Asia, and has performed, recorded, broadcast and coached in her various roles as first violin; as former founder member of the prize-winning Callino Quartet, with piano trio Ensemble Avalon and with South American folk band Lunfardía. Chamber collaborations have been with artists as diverse as Barry Douglas (piano), John Abercrombie (jazz guitarist), Martin Hayes (trad fiddle) and Arcade Fire (indie rock) and as a member of an all-female violin quartet joining the then leaders of RTÉ National Symphony, RTÉ Concert and the Irish Chamber Orchestras on tour. Ioana is a long-standing member of Musici Ireland, who together create and present original inter-disciplinary work in complement to their core chamber repertoire.

Alongside her role at the Ulster Orchestra, Ioana is in increasing demand as a guest concertmaster, joining a variety of orchestras at home and abroad as Guest Leader. She teaches at Queens University, Belfast, regularly appears as panellist and jury member on competitions, examination boards and Arts Councils both North and South, and provides chamber and orchestral tutoring and coaching for all ages and stages. 

Originally from Cork, Ioana lived in London and Barcelona before finally calling Bangor home in 2010.