St Kilda East VIC, Australia
Violin Lessons | Viola Lessons | Artist development, Ensemble Coaching, VCE Music Exam Preparation, Skype Lessons
Bio
I teach violin at the University of Melbourne / Conservatorium of Music. I also give international masterclasses and teach at my private violin studio in Melbourne and worldwide online.
My lessons are designed for each student’s aims, balanced between technical (a combination of Russian and Western schools) and musical development, including general music theory and history knowledge.
For more effective musical guidance, I use demonstration, provide piano accompaniment and play with students violin duos. My teaching is aimed at setting individual performance goals, including preparation for performances, exams, auditions or competitions.
At my yearly student concert, my students are given the opportunity to perform on stage showcasing their progress and participate in an ensemble.
I am an active performer and play regularly as a soloist and chamber musician internationally in concerts and festivals (Melbourne Recital Centre, Europe). I am a laureate of several competitions (2nd Prize All-State String Competition, Special Jury Prize A.Dombrovsky International Violin Competition, 1st Prize D.Turgeman Chamber Music Competition) and have performed as a soloist with orchestras: the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Camerata.
I have held principal and tutti positions with Israel Camerata (2009-18) and Sinfonietta Riga (2005-6) chamber orchestras and as a guest with the Latvian National Symphony, Orchestra Victoria, Nordic Symphony, and Israel Philharmonic. Since 2022, I am the founder and Concertmaster of Melbourne Strings. www.sophiakirsanova.com/melbourne-strings
I started my music studies at the age of 5 in Latvia at the Em.Dārziņa Specialist Music School in Riga. Later I continued my studies at the Latvian Academy of Music and many courses in Europe (Aurora Master Classes (Sweden), Collegium Musicum (Germany), and Holland Music Sessions).
I hold a PhD (Performance) from the University of Melbourne, a Master’s, Bachelor’s degrees and an Artist Diploma.
I have recorded for record labels SKANi (Solo album “The Morning Mist”), NAXOS, and ABC Classic.
My primary teachers have been Hagai Shaham, Yuri Shvolkovsky, Michael Gaisler, and Nelli Sarkisian and I have attended masterclasses with Itzhak Perlman, Zakhar Bron, Miriam Fried, Ivry Gitlis, György Pauk, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and Christian Tetzlaff etc.
My website: www.sophiakirsanova.com
Performance videos: https://www.sophiakirsanova.com/videos
Teaching Info
- Weekly lessons of 60 minutes
- A tailored program to the student’s needs
- Preparation for exams and auditions
- Wide range of repertoire
- Piano accompaniment