Born in Ukraine but raised in the United States, Karolina Protsenko has made a name for herself as a child music genius with a gift for the violin. Originally a street performer who busked in Santa Monica, Karolina rapidly went from achieving viral fame to landing TV appearances, to eventually becoming an internationally recognised superstar.

What you need to know

Karolina Protsenko is a 15-year-old violinist extraordinaire who was born in Ukraine to a family obsessed with music. Karolina took to the violin almost instantly, encouraged at a young age by her parents.

The family relocated to the United States in 2015, where Karolina began to take violin lessons and receive classical training. Within just a few short years, Karolina gained the skills and confidence she needed to start busking.

She began busking in Santa Monica in 2017, and passers-by quickly praised Karolina’s show-stopping violin covers of popular songs.

Things moved very quickly for the young artist. She became a viral sensation almost immediately after performing on the streets.

In this case, the numbers speak for themselves. Karolina has 3 YouTube channels and gained over 10 million followers in six years, with her viewers coming from over 50 countries. Her videos have garnered over 1 billion views, with live recorded performances often gaining tens of millions of views mere days after being shared.

Karolina’s talents have been recognised by the public, music community members, and many celebrities (Karolina even appeared on The Ellen Show in 2019).

Even a cursory look through Karolina Protsenko’s YouTube channel will tell you everything you need to know about this tremendous artist. The defining appeal of her music is how poised and precise she is with the violin. Karolina takes modern pop songs and makes them into her own thing. Her covers of popular numbers like Tones & I’s ‘Dance Monkey’ and Tom Odell’s ‘Another Love’ are instantly recognisable to audiences, but made unfamiliar and unique by her expert violining.

In addition to this, Karolina is incredibly graceful as a live performer. When she takes to the streets, she combines her violin playing with elegant dance moves, so her performances take on an arresting, show-stopping quality.

Where you can hear Karolina Protsenko perform

Karolina is best known for performing in Santa Monica, often in busy central streets within the town. Even as her career has picked up momentum in recent years, Karolina continues to busk in Santa Monica.

The artist has also performed live concerts with orchestras, including a recent performance with Orchestra Nova in Culver City, CA.

What else you should know about the artist

Karolina Protsenko has released five albums to date. Her first four albums offer original takes on modern pop songs, with her signature violin sound as the focal point.

Her latest album, Finally Together, saw Karolina collaborate with saxophonist Daniele Vitale for 13 new covers. The album was the culmination of a successful musical partnership, as Daniele and Karolina have previously busked together in public.