An Irish violinist of Romanian origin, Ioana Petcu-Colan is an established soloist and chamber musician travelling internationally to perform from her current base in Barcelona. Ioana is soloist on two CDs released by RTE and was most recently invited to premier 'Elastic Harmonic' for Violin and Orchestra by Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy on RTE television.

A keen chamber musician, Ioana is 1st violin and founder member of the Callino Quartet, who are performing at the festival. She also performs with the Arum Chamber Ensemble who explore lesser-known works, and is a member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

Ioana's studies took her from Ireland through France, obtaining the Premier Prix a l'Unanimite at the age of sixteen, to the UK where she was awarded a 1st class Honours BMus degree from the London Royal Academy of Music before returning to Ireland to obtain a Masters in Performance.