Julia Sakharova (Russian: Юлия Сахарова) is a professional violinist. A native of Zheleznovodsk, Russia, she debuted at the age of eight with the . Her mother is also a musician. By the age of 11, she was already internationally known as a child prodigy due to her skills on the violin. At the age of 15, she won the top prize in the ; Vladimir Spivakov, the head of the jury, presented her with his bow in addition to the prize. She attended Oberlin College, graduating in 2003 with a major in violin performance; she studied under Milan Vitek while there. That same year, she competed in the , and won sixth prize. In 2005, she visited Caracas, Venezuela to perform with the National Philharmonic Orchestra there. She has been Assistant Concertmaster of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since 2008. S