A passionate and versatile violinist, Sabin Laviniu Penea began studying violin at the age of 7 at the “G. Georgescu” School of Arts in Tulcea, Romania, under the guidance of Prof. Mariana Lupu. He continued his musical education at the prestigious “George Enescu” Music High School in Bucharest, studying with Carmen Runceanu.

He earned both his Bachelor’s and first Master’s degrees from the National University of Music Bucharest, where he studied with Prof. Dr. Gabriel Croitoru. He later pursued further specialization at the Kunst Universität Graz in Austria with the renowned violinist Silvia Marcovici, and completed a second Master’s degree at the Musikhochschule Freiburg under Prof. Sebastian Hamann, alongside who he completed his artistic development in the Konzert Exam postgraduate soloist program.

Winner of First Prize at the Kreutzer Competition in Liège, Belgium (2021), he has also served as artistic director of the JazzUP Sea and JazzUP Peak festivals in Romania between 2021 and 2025.

His artistic journey includes masterclasses with acclaimed musicians such as Ștefan Gheorghiu, Pavel Berman, Silvia Marcovici, Liviu Prunaru, and Frans Helmerson, among many others. He has participated in the SoNoRo Interferente program and the International Summer Academy in Reichenau, Austria, and earned aspirant status with the European Chamber Music Association in Vienna under the patronage of Hatto Beyerle.

He has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa — including appearances in Romania, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Morocco, and China. He has collaborated with orchestras such as the Romanian National Radio Orchestra, Brăila Philharmonic, the Young Famous Orchestra of Cluj, and CaMMerata in Bucharest.

He has appeared at major festivals including the George Enescu Festival, SoNoRo Conac, KammerArt New Music Festival, Festival of Early and Byzantine Music in Iași, Sommer Musik Fest in Switzerland, International Days of Music in Istanbul, Europalia in Belgium and France, and Yiddish Summer Weimar in Germany.

Throughout his career, he has performed with renowned artists such as Justus Grimm, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Diana Ketler, Mihaela Martin, Sharon Kam, Deria Turkan, and Hyung-ki Joo.

Between 2012 and 2017, he was the first violinist of the Solartis Quartet, which performed at the Enescu Festival with the George Enescu Philharmonic in the premiere of Peter Ruzicka’s Clouds for string quartet and orchestra. The ensemble won several awards, including Silver Medal at the International Chamber Music Competition in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) and Third Prize at the International Mozart Competition in Cluj-Napoca.

As a member of the Anton Pann Ensemble, he explores early music from the Ottoman-Byzantine cultural sphere (17th–19th centuries), and he has served as concertmaster of the Young Famous Orchestra in Cluj-Napoca.

In 2018, he recorded and produced the soundtrack for the documentary The Music of War Wounds, about George Enescu, also playing the role of the composer on screen.

He previously held the position of associate principal second violin at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. Between December 2022 and May 2025 he performed on a 1760 Niccolò Gagliano violin, generously offered from the State Collection of Baden-Württemberg.