Nina Balabina Founder and Artistic Director of Lilla Akademien, Master Instructor of the Violin Stockholm, Sweden Advisory Council Arts and Education Advisor
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Nina Balabina studied music and violin first at the St. Petersburg special music school for gifted children and then at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, receiving degrees in performance, chamber music and pedagogy. Ms. Balabina went on to perform with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Mariinsky Opera Orchestra under Evgeny Mravinsky and Valery Gergiev, also touring the world with other orchestras and chamber ensembles. In 1973, she first founded a music school in St. Petersburg.

In 1992, Ms. Balabina moved to Stockholm and began immediately to perform with the Swedish Philharmonic and Opera Orchestras as well as with the Stockholm Quartet. In 1994, she founded Lilla Akademien.

During Ms. Balabina's 36 years of teaching experience, she has prepared violin students of all ages for professional careers, and many have gone on to receive top prizes at international competitions and to perform with some of the finest ensembles and orchestras in the world.

In 2005, the Stockholm Municipal Council awarded Ms. Balabina its prestigious St. Erik Medal for her pioneering work for the education of young people in classical music. That same year, Ms. Balabina was invited to join the Foundation Carpe Vitam, and she also was named by Peter Wallenberg as the Cultural Entrepreneur of the Year in Sweden. In 2006 Ms. Balabina also received Block's Konungens Medal for her intiatives for the development of Swedish musical life.