ALEXANDRE DA COSTA was born in Montréal Canada in 1979. He showed an uncommon interest for both the violin and piano at a very early age. By the age of nine, he had the astounding ability to perform his first concerts with stunning virtuosity on both instruments, which brought him recognition as a musical prodigy. His chosen professional career as a violinist began very early and he was soon performing regularly as soloist with orchestra as well as in recital.

In 1998, at the age of 18, he received a Master’s degree in violin and a First Prize from the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec. Concurrently, he also received a Bachelor’ s degree in Piano Interpretation from the faculty of music of the University of Montreal. From 1998 to 2001, he studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid with his mentor Zakhar Bron, teacher of violinists such as Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin. In 2002, he won the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award for best Canadian artist under 30 years old. Between 2003 and 2006, after winning the Musical Instrument Bank competition of the Canada Council for the Arts, he played the 1689 Baumgartner Stradivarius.

Winner of many prestigious national and international first prizes, he appeared as soloist in nearly 1000 concerts throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico, France, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Japan, China, Taiwan, etc. Alexandre Da Costa performed in major halls such as Vienna’s Musikverein, Berlin’s Philharmonie, New York's Carnegie Hall, Hamburg’s Musikhalle, Madrid’s National Auditorium, Beijing’s Poly Theater, etc., and played with prestigious orchestras such as the London Royal Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Bergen Philharmonic, the Berlin Symphony, the Hamburg Symphony, the Vienna Symphony, the Prague Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, Spain’s National TV & Radio Symphony Orchestra, etc., under conductors such as Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Leonard Slatkin, Matthias Bamert, Günter Herbig, Pedro Halffter, Robert Bernhardt, Adrian Leaper, Lior Shambadal, etc. He recorded live performances for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the WestDeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Radio-Classical International, Radio-Canada/CBC, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), Radio Nacional de España (RNE), Austria State Radio (ORF), TV Asahi Japan, etc.

Between 1998 and 2006, he recorded 12 CDs for XXI-21 Records and ATMA labels, among them the world premiere recordings of violin Concertos by Portuguese composers Luis de Freitas Branco and Armando José Fernandes with the Extremadura Symphony Orchestra under Jesús Amigo, a disc nominated at the JUNO Awards 2006. Other recordings include Vivaldi Four Seasons with the chamber orchestra of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s violin & viola duos with Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s Solo violist Christian Frohn, concerti by Tchaikovsky & Bruch, Bach & Ysaye solo sonatas, Spanish works by Turina, de Falla, Nin, Albeniz, etc., Bloch & Williams works with the Biel Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Kreisler works with the Canimex Ensemble under Jean-François Rivest, etc. in 2009, he will record concertos by Michael Daugherty with the Montreal Symphony under Pedro Halffter for Warner Classics. He now records for Warner Classics International, Octave Classique/Universal and JVC/Victor (Japan).

In addition to his concerts schedule, Alexandre is active as a teacher, giving workshops and Masterclasses in various universities and Conservatories around the world while traveling for concerts. He was also named Musical Development Director of the Canimex Foundation, an organization gathering an impressive collection of Fine Instruments for the benefit of talented artists.

All reviews are unanimous in saluting Alexandre's faultless technique, inherited directly from the Russian School, his exceptional energy and musical talent. Alexandre da Costa now plays the 1727 "Di Barbaro" Stradivarius and a Sartory bow, courtesy of Canimex.