Julia Smirnova, violin
For the ICMA 2023 awarded violinist Julia Smirnova is currently an artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where she is studying with Augustin Dumay. She performs on a violin made by Joseph filius Andrea Guarneri in 1710. In January 2024 she made her debut as a soloist with the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie.
Julia was born in Komsomolsk on Amur in Russia. Since 2017, she has been studying at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin, first with Prof. Antje Weithaas, then with Prof. Stephan Picard. In 2021she received the DAAD Prize as the best foreign student for exceptional artistic achievement. Julia Smirnova is also a prize winner in some international competitions including the II. Alberto Lysy Competition in Gstaad, the Ibolyka-Gyarfas-Stiftung Competition in Berlin and the III. Vladimir Spivakov International Competition in Ufa.
Julia regularly performs as a chamber musician. In 2022, she released her debut album “The Songs of our Neighbours” together with cellist Konstantin Manaev, featuring first recordings of Aziza Sadikova and Johanna Doderer, which was nominated for the Opus Klassik Award 2022 in the categories of “Best Chamber Music Recording” and “Young Artist of the Year.” As the “New Classic Duo,” the two musicians are dedicated to contemporary music that appeals to audiences beyond specialist circles. In the same year, they premiered Gordon Hamilton’s double concerto “Garden of Animals” with the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra at a sold-out Tonhalle.
Julia Smirnova has been invited to perform at various festivals, including Flagey Festival in Belgium, hören:sitzendorf, the Klangwerkstatt and Randspiele for contemporary music in Berlin, the Encuentro de Musica y Academia in Santander.
In the past year, Smirnova made her debut as soloist in the Berliner Philharmonie with the Hauptstadt-Sinfonieorchester.