Professional violinist, she will represent France at the world pool freediving championships

It was her dream, to go to the world freediving championships in the pool and represent France. It’s done, Béatrice Ernwein will be in Belgrade (Serbia), from July 4 to 10, 2024 and intends to distinguish herself in monofin, her discipline, in the master category. Meeting with the one who has just finished on the third step of the French championship, a distinguished sportswoman and musician.

Isn’t it said that musicians are often athletes who don’t know it? Béatrice Ernwein knows it! Her sporting record is impressive: three titles of French champion of dynamic apnea in monofin, a title of French champion of static apnea and an upcoming participation in the world championships of apnea in swimming pool which will take place in Belgrade (Serbia) from July 4 to 10, 2024.

191 meters in monofin, that’s the distance she covered in apnea at the 2024 French championships where she finished third.The level has improved significantly among the women“, she tells us. As for the musician, she is one of the pillars of the Amiens Métropole Regional Conservatory.

Béatrice Ernwein has been a violinist and full-time violin teacher at the Conservatoire since she arrived in the region in 2013. Aged 53, mother of fraternal twins, Antoine and Cédric, who will be 21 in September 2024, she grew up in Strasbourg where she started music at the age of five. First the piano, but at the age of eight she really fell in love with the violin : It is the aesthetic beauty and the sound of the instrument that make her capsize. It must also be admitted that her father was the director of the music school. Music is a family affair!

Apnea must be done gradually, your body must be accustomed slowly, you must feel all the elements, progress slowly, never alone.

Beatrice Ernwein, freediver and violinist

It was by progressing in the musical world, by taking part in competitions (she won, among other things, the First Prize for virtuosity at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Genève) that she became aware that her body was entirely at the service of her instrument.When you play 8 to 10 hours a day to prepare for competitions, the first ailments appear, such as tendonitis and back problems, which are put under a lot of strain by posture.” So she started doing sports, strength training, stretching… A bit like we could all do.

Then came the world of scuba diving (with bottles) where she also excelled, a friend then suggested she try freediving. Member of the Amiens Sub club, she won her first title of French static apnea champion in 2014 (you stay underwater as long as possible without breathing and motionless) with a time of 6 minutes 27 seconds and 80 hundredths.

And the music is still there!”We literally plunge into deep lethargy, but we have to stay conscious! So in my head I listen to music. For example for this result in 2014, it was the Meditation by Thaïs by the composer Jules Massenet which, depending on the rhythm I give it, lasts 5-6 minutes or more; that’s what allows me to keep my conscience!” (This piece is one of the most famous violin solos in the repertoire).

Béatrice Ernwein tries other types of apnea. After static, it’s time for dynamic (with or without fins and with a monofin).Freediving must be done gradually, your body must be accustomed to it slowly, you must feel all the elements, progress slowly, never alone.”

In monofin, it is a very technical discipline! You don’t find the right movement for the undulation the first time! It takes hours and hours of training (Béatrice trains twice a week in her club, but also does flexibility exercises every day at home, without forgetting “long-distance” sports like cycling for example).

Once you find the right technical gesture, it becomes automatic. You have to be hyper-sheathed, not brake in the water, hence the very straight arms and the feet stretched out as well. The undulation is essential, that’s why she also plays music in her head to keep the rhythm, it can be a piece of Vivaldi or something else, it depends on the moment. With a monofin, you never raise your head, you always look at the bottom of the pool.

Her last title as French monofin champion in the master category (a category that disappeared in 2024 in favor of the elite category on the national territory), was won on May 13 and 14, 2023 in Saint-Raphaël (83). She has three in monofin (2016, 2017 and 2023), but it is the last one that she is most proud of, if only because it is her personal record! She crossed the 200 meter mark, which was the distance she dreamed of exceeding. She estimates the number of undulations made to get there at 108, or an average of 27 for 50 meters.

But then, what does the practice of apnea bring to the violinist? ?

A very deep well-being, a knowledge and a permanent listening to one’s body. It teaches one to relax, to let go, to know how to find the right position, the right posture to play. It also allows one to manage stress before a concert for example; Béatrice is part of several groups with which she does concerts.

“I was “very stalker, stage fright you have to know how to control it! Thanks to this discipline, I control my breathing and I manage my stress in a much more positive way.” She teaches it to her students at the Conservatory, but also, like every summer, during internships. Béatrice will give violin lessons and mental preparation for competitions (music or dance) in Lozère in Mende from July 15 to 27, 2024.

>>> Watch or rewatch the program dedicated to Béatrice Ernwein by clicking on the image

Béatrice Ernwein has therefore managed to qualify for the world championships which start in a few hours… We will not fail to follow her to Belgrade, wishing her to achieve her dreams. She is also looking for sponsors to accompany her in taking charge of travel, throughout the year.

Finally, if we tell you The big BlueBeatrice? She smiled: “Fortunately there is music and Jean-Marc Barr, but the rest…”

(This article was published in another form on 09/25/2023).