Selina Ott was the first woman in the Munich ARD International Music Competition’s 70-year history to be awarded First Prize in the trumpet category, in September 2018 and at the age of only 20. She was subsequently invited to perform with leading orchestras such as the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich and the Czech Philharmonic, and at international festivals.

Selina Ott began her music studies at the age of five on piano. A year later, she started to study trumpet with her father Erich Ott. She continued her studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Martin Mühlfellner, and at the University of Music in Karlsruhe with Reinhold Friedrich. In 2020 she graduated with distinction in the class of Roman Rindberger at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK). Additionally, she attended masterclasses with Gabor Tarkövi, Jens Lindemann, Hans Gansch, Guillaume Couloumy, and others.

On her debut album with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under Roberto Paternostro, the young artist presents an exciting selection from the opulent range of 20th-century trumpet concertos that were written in close succession: the frequently performed concerto by Arutiunian and the much rarer first concerto by Vladimir Peskin are accompanied by a charming work by French composer Alfred Desenclos, offering a marked contrast to the two Soviet concertos.

Selina Ott says that the concerto by Desenclos ‘is really my favourite piece’. She performed it in the first round of the ARD International Music Competition in 2018, where she ultimately won the First Prize.