Violinist Charlie Siem explains how he 'accidentally' became a model

Model musician: Charlie Siem with his Yehudi Menuhin violin
Dave Benett

Virtuoso violinist Charlie Siem today told how he became a model “by accident” after being asked to perform by photographer Mario Testino.

The 32-year-old said: “It was so random, how I got into it. I was called in to meet Mario Testino, years ago now, because he had seen a video of me playing and wanted me to perform at a book launch he was having. Next day I was asked by a casting director to be in a campaign for Alfred Dunhill.”

He was most recently shot by Karl Lagerfeld holding his violin in a 2015 Dior fragrance campaign.

Eton and Cambridge-educated Siem, son of Norwegian billionaire Kristian Siem, began learning the instrument aged three and now performs at top venues around the world, from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, on a violin played by Yehudi Menuhin.

He said his modelling sideline is the perfect counterfoil to life as a classical musician because it boosts his profile and gets concert sponsorship.

“Having relationships with these brands has also been helpful in terms of sponsoring concerts and putting on performances,” he said.

Virtuoso: Charlie Siem with sister Loulou 
Dave Benett

Siem will spend 2018 touring Europe and South America with recitals and fronting orchestral performances of Tchaikovsky.

He is also headlining The New Generation Festival in Florence this summer featuring performances solely by musicians under 30. Then, after a modelling campaign, he will reappear on billboards later this year.

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