Cordula Fest received her first violin lessons at the age of 5. She studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Dresden with Prof. Reinhard Ulbricht and with Prof. Yair Kless at the University of Music in Graz/Austria. Numerous master classes, among others with Zakhar Bron, Donald Weilerstein and Roman Totenberg/USA completed her studies.
She was awarded prizes at numerous youth competitions, such as the International Kocian Competition in Usti nad Orlici, the Bach Competition in Leipzig and several times at the national competition "Jugend musiziert". Several times she was a prize-winner at the Johann-Georg-Pisendel-Competition of the Dresdner Bank, the last time she was awarded the main prize in 2001.
In 2003 she received the appreciation award of the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Culture in Austria for "special artistic achievements".
As a soloist, Cordula Fest has performed several times with, among others, the Pirna Symphony Orchestra, the Europera Orchestra Görlitz, the Elbland Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra Reichenbach, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jörg-Peter Weigle and the Orchestra of the Bulgarian State Opera Sofia.With various chamber music formations, she has performed in many European countries, in Japan and as a guest at the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival in Maine/ USA.
Since 2003 Cordula Fest is deputy concertmaster of the 2nd violins in the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra.