Igor Zolotarev, born in Leningrad, began his musical studies in violin at the age of four. He attended the Special Music School for Gifted Children under the auspices of the Leningrad Conservatory where he studied with Ludmila Adjemova and with Larissa Baranova. Afterwards he studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory under professor Antonina Kazarina, and became a 2003 prizewinner at the International Glazunov Competition in Paris. As the concertmaster and soloist of the Students Orchestra of the Conservatory, he participated in numerous Russian and International concerts and festivals. Still a Conservatory graduate student under professor Kazarina, Igor joined the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra under the directorship of Yuri Temirkanov where he now holds a chair in the first violin section.