But Can She Do Both At The Same Time?

Concert violinist Vanessa-Mae will be heading to the Sochi Olympics next month, but not to perform in the opening ceremony. She’ll be going there to compete – as a skier.

Photo: AP Photo / CTK

O2 Arena, Czech Republic, Prague

Vanessa-Mae, who moves easily between classical music and pop, qualified for the Thai skiing team by gaining enough points in at least five slalom or giant slalom races to compete in the Olympics.

Thailand is not really known for its skiing, but then again Vanessa-Mae, who will be competing under her father’s name, Vanessa Vanakorn, has never lived in Thailand for any length of time.

She was born in Singapore and raised in London as Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson.

Now 35, she has been playing violin since the age of 5 and became a star in 1995 with her debut album Violin Player.