Edith Salzmann

Edith Salzmann is a German/NZ cellist with an extensive career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. She began her studies at the Music Academy in Detmold in Germany at the age of fourteen and went on to study at Indiana University, Bloomington (USA), where she studied with Janos Starker. She was a member of the Tibor Varga Chamber Orchestra, the Corda String Quartet, the Musikfabrik Duesseldorf, and various other New Music ensembles and has performed extensively all over Europe, America, Asia, and Australasia.

Her discography includes releases on Naxos, Stradivarius, EMI Germany, Atoll, and Rattle records with several CD’s for Naxos Records being scheduled for release in 2025. She regularly tours with the Pettman Ensemble, the Dorrit Ensemble and the Lumen Ensemble and records for Naxos Records.
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Edith is a highly successful teacher, with many of her former students now having careers in professional orchestras or as chamber musicians. From 2001 – 2012 she was Director of Performance and Senior Lecturer at the University of Canterbury (NZ), and in 2013 she accepted a Senior lecturer position at the University of Auckland. Since 2024 she teaches at the University of Adelaide.  She is in demand for masterclasses and regularly teaches in  Korea, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland.

In 2005, she founded the Pettman National Junior Academy, a privately sponsored scholarship program for highly talented young musicians. To date, this program has been going from strength to strength, with multiple international prize winners coming out of its ranks. In 2024, Edith took on the position of Associate Director of the Open Music Program at the Elder Conservatorium.