Nicola Benedetti’s career trajectory to date has, to put it mildly, been stellar. Young Musician of the Year at 16, a record contract at the age of 17, she’s now on her eighth album. She’s also renowned for her passion for music education and her outspoken opposition to the sexualisation of women in music marketing. And all by the age of 27! But how did she get here from there?

Although she now inspires a whole generation of young players, Nicola Benedetti’s own inspiration came from her home at an early age. “I started playing the violin because that’s what my sister wanted to do. There was no music in my family, so my only reason for playing was wanting to copy her!” laughs Benedetti.

Having started playing at four years old and sitting eighth grade at the age of eight, it was obvious from day dot that Benedetti was on a path to musical greatness. “My teacher picked up on my talent quite quickly,” recalls the violinist, “and all kinds of exterior things were letting my parents know that I was quite good at the violin. They’d read about a...