Top violinist Nicola Benedetti has confirmed she is married to a jazz musician 25 years her senior who she met when she was just 17 years old.
The 38-year-old was introduced to celebrated jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, 63, more than 21 years ago in New York when she attended the American Academy of Achievement summit as a student-delegate.
At the time, the Scottish violinist was just 17 years old, while Mr Marsalis, of New Orleans, was 42.
Speaking publicly about their relationship for the first time, Ms Benedetti, of Ayrshire, has revealed she was already a ‘huge fan’ of the American trumpeter when they initially crossed paths.
Having formed a ‘certain type of kinship’, she said that the pair initially remained ‘good friends’, despite their large age gap.
They then began a romantic relationship several years later, with the couple welcoming their first child together, a daughter, in May 2024.
Now, speaking for the first time about the decision to keep their relationship private for so many years, Ms Benedetti told The Telegraph: ‘I don’t tend to discuss my private life because people don’t come to my concerts because of whom I’m in a relationship with.
‘They come because I play the violin’.
Top violinist Nicola Benedetti (pictured) has confirmed she is married to Wynton Marsalis, the jazz musician 25 years her senior who she met when she was just 17 years old
Ms Benedetti, 38, met celebrated jazz musician Wynton Marsalis, 63, (both pictured) more than 21 years ago in New York when she attended the American Academy of Achievement summit as a student-delegate
Now, speaking to The Telegraph about why their relationship has remained private for so many years, Ms Benedetti (pictured) said: ‘I don’t tend to discuss my private life because people don’t come to my concerts because of whom I’m in a relationship with’
Mr Marsalis has four other children – two sons, Wynton Jr. and Simeon, with former partner Candace Stanley, a third son, Jasper, whom he shares with actress Victoria Rowell, alongside a daughter, Oni.
As a key figure in the 1980s jazz renaissance, he often been referred to as the ‘Pied Piper’ of Jazz, accumulating up to nine Grammy awards across a career spanning over four decades.
Meanwhile, Ms Benedetti, who has strong Italian roots, won the title of BBC Young Musician in 2004 when she was 16 and became the youngest ever recipient of the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2017.
She shared with The Telegraph that since having a child, she has begun to question elements of her upbringing. Both her and her older sister would be required to practise the violin for up to three hours on a daily basis during the summer holidays.
Adding that her ‘strict’ childhood meant both her and her sister ‘feared upsetting our parents’, the Scots performer said that she believes the young people of today often ‘lack basic discipline in their daily lives’.
In 2015, Mr Marsalis composed a violin concerto specifically for Ms Benedetti titled ‘Violin Concerto in D’, premiered at London’s Barbican Centre.
The piece, widely considered one of the most popular and beloved violin concertos in the classical repertoire, was described as ‘taking inspiration from Ms Benedetti’s life as a travelling performer and educator who enlightens and delights communities’.
But Ms Benedetti and Mr Marsalis said previously they could hardly remember who came up with the initial idea, joking in a joint interview: ‘It’s like a scene from When Harry Met Sally. I don’t know if I said it or if she said it.’
The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, in May 2024. Pictured: Ms Benedetti and Mr Marsalis at a reception to celebrate the most talented jazz musicians in London on May 9, 2024
Ms Benedetti, who has strong Italian roots, won the title of BBC Young Musician in 2004 when she was 16 and became the youngest ever recipient of the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2017. Just after giving birth in 2024, she was seen attending events with her new-born baby in tow (pictured)
As a key figure in the 1980s jazz renaissance, Mr Marsalis (pictured in 2009) has often been referred to as the ‘Pied Piper’ of Jazz, accumulating up to nine Grammy awards across a career spanning over four decades
Meanwhile, in an interview with the LA Times in 2016, Ms Benedetti gushed about the piece, remarking that the sound was ‘truly wild and so quintessentially him’, while Mr Marsalis said that his favourite part of the concerto was simply ‘Nicola’s sound’. Adding: ‘I just like her sound’.
In the years following, the pair continued to collaborate on numerous projects.
In 2023, Ms Benedetti became the first woman and the first Scot to be appointed director of the Edinburgh International Festival, which takes place every August.
Announcing her pregnancy in March 2024, Ms Benedetti told the Times that she was feeling ‘positive’ and ‘excited’, adding: ‘There is so much unknown. Flexibility will be the aim of the game in the next little while and plenty of support.’
In May 2025, nine months after her daughter’s birth, she revealed that becoming a mother had ‘definitely’ changed her and given her a more relaxed attitude to the perfectionism that drove her to international fame.
She told the publication: ‘Throughout my life I have been so concerned with what could happen, or what did happen, or what could have been done better.
‘I used to analyse again and again every note of the performance I’d just done, or the recording I’d just made.
‘So I was always living either in the past or the future. Since my daughter was born, I have learnt to live in the present and just be grateful to be here.’
In 2023, Ms Benedetti became the first woman and the first Scot to be appointed director of the Edinburgh International Festival, which takes place every August. Announcing her pregnancy in March 2024, Ms Benedetti told the Times that she was feeling ‘positive’
In 2015, Mr Marsalis composed a violin concerto specifically for Ms Benedetti titled ‘Violin Concerto in D’, premiered at London’s Barbican Centre. The piece is widely considered one of the most popular and beloved violin concertos in the classical repertoire
She also added: ‘I’ve not done any big concerts since giving birth. Just a bit of playing in the [Edinburgh] Festival and one or two small private concerts.’
However, just weeks after giving birth, she was seen attending events with her new-born baby in tow, including promoting Scottish Opera’s Oedipus Rex with her daughter in a sling.
She also took her daughter with her when she appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today Show where she discussed funding for the arts and performed violin piece Ashokan Farewell by Jay Ungar.
Mr Marsalis currently serves as the artistic director of Jazz at the Lincoln Center, in New York, the site of where the pair first met all those years ago.
In January 2009, he performed to President Obama alongside an exclusive crowd of 100 guests at his inauguration party.
Meanwhile, Ms Benedetti also serves as founder of music education charity The Benedetti Foundation, which has inspired more than 100,000 young musicians.
In March 2024, the foundation responded to the news of Ms Benedetti’s pregnancy in a celebratory post that read: ‘We are so thrilled for our founder and artistic director Nicky Benedetti who has announced she is expecting a baby in May.
Huge congratulations and much love from all of the foundation team.’
On BBC Radio Scotland series Stark Talk in 2019, Ms Benedetti spoke about having children, stating: ‘My sister’s married now and in a very kind of settled place in her life, but she’s 35, and a lot of my friends are in similar circumstances.
They live in a house with a partner and have children or are going to have children, and obviously I’m not at that point yet.’
Asked in a 2022 interview with The Times if she would like to have children, she was quoted as saying: ‘If I am fortunate enough to be able to, yes I hope so.’
