Inez Karlsson began playing the cello at the age of 6 and since the age of 10 she has been studying at the Royal College of Music Junior Department. For five years she studied with the late Michal Kaznowski, and from autumn 2023 she started to study with Professor Melissa Phelps. In 2023 at age 15 she made her concerto debut performing the Rococo Variations by Tchaikovsky with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden, conducted by Delyana Lazarova.
She was awarded first prize in the Nordic Edition Polstjärnepriset 2023, the biggest competition in the Nordic countries for those aged under 19. After winning the competition she performed as soloist with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony orchestra and was invited to perform at the Baltic Sea Music Festival in Stockholm. The concert was broadcasted on the national classic music radio channel.
In 2024 she performed in the Young Performers series at Soirees at Breinton. In June 2025 she performed Brahms’ Double Concerto with Woking Symphony Orchestra and her sister Isabell on the violin, and in September she performed Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Norwich Sinfonietta. In February 2026 she will give a recital in the Elgar Room at Royal Albert Hall.
Inez has participated in numerous master courses - such as Kronberg in Germany, Accordi Musicali Academy in Italy, and Noyers Music Festival in France - and received masterclasses from prominent cellists such as David Geringas, Gary Hoffman, Gustav Rivinius, Marc Coppey, Alexander Chaushian, Colin Carr, Jakob Koranyi, Alban Gerhardt, Raphael Wallfisch, Alexander Baillie, Andreas Brantelid and Torleif Thedéen.
She was awarded the 2023 Hans Dalborg Young Artist Music Scholarship in Sweden and was also the recipient of a Hattori Foundation Junior Award in 2024.
Inez plays a Cordanus cello kindly loaned to her by the family of Michal Kaznowski.