Anne Gastinel is a French cellist and professor. She was born on October 14, 1971, in the town of Tassin-la-Demi-Lune. Tassin-la-Demi-Lune is in the south east of France close to Lyon. She has three sisters and one brother. Both of her parents are musicians and passed their passion down to their children. Her father composes pieces and her mother plays the piano. Her musical career started at the age of four when she began playing one of her sister's cellos as well as began studying the piano and oboe. Her first televised concert with an orchestra was at the age of ten where she was a soloist (1981). One year after her televised solo, Gastinel entered the Lyons Conservatory School to begin her formal music education. At age 15 (1986), Gastinel finished first place in her class at the Musical Conservatory School in Lyon, France. After her time in Lyon she moved on to study at the more advanced National Musical Conservatory in Paris. In Paris her teachers included famous musicians and fellow cellists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Paul Tortelier, and János Starker; all of whom made their impression on her and her musical style. In 1990 Gastinel competed on the Eurovision Tournament in Vienna, where she represented France. She has participated in many more international contests since then and has done extremely well in several including the Cheveningen, Prague, and Rostropovich Competitions. Gastinel was the first French artist to reach the finals in the Prague International Competition in forty years and won first place in the International Competition of Scheveningen. By the young age of 18 (1989), this child prodigy had already performed in more than 50 cities all over Europe. Later on she began a worldwide solo career. She has traveled worldwide around many different continents such as Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas and has won many prizes for her work. She has played at many famous musical halls around the world during her years of touring. Some of the more notable venues are Santori Hall in Tokyo Japan, Victoria Hall in Geneva Switzerland, Berlin Konzerthaus in Germany, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, France, and Victoria Hall in London, England. Gastinel has been awarded many prizes for her performances and albums. She was named “Victore of Music” in all three categories of competition; most inspirational, best track of the year, and soloist of the year.