Concerts » Irina Vavilova

Date

27.08.24

Day

Tuesday

Time

20:00

Irina Vavilova (b. 1992) first encountered music through the piano, but as a 16-year-old music theory student in St. Petersburg, she chose the organ as her minor — or did the organ choose her? —ultimately leading her onto a new educational path. At the Sibelius Academy, Irina studied organ under the guidance of Markku Hietaharju and Ville Urponen, completing her master’s degree in the spring of 2019. Her studies also included church music, pedagogy, and harpsichord.

Irina has participated in numerous masterclasses both in Finland and abroad. In the fall semester of 2018, she studied as an exchange student at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, USA, Nathan Laube and William Porter as her teachers. She has achieved success in music competitions, including a shared 2nd prize at the Stavanger Nordic Organ Competition in 2021.

Since 2021, Irina has served as the church music lecturer at the Kuopio unit of the Sibelius Academy, also teaching organ at the Kuopio Conservatory and privately.

In addition to her teaching duties, Irina has performed as a soloist and chamber musician extensively worldwide and is in demand as an accompanist. Her passion lies in collaborating with choirs, and she has performed with choirs such as Candomini, Ensemble Vida, Somnium Ensemble, EMO Ensemble, Tampere Capella, and Cantio Laudis.

In 2024, Irina performed in the closing concert of the inaugural week of the new organ at the Helsinki Music Centre together with Ilpo Laspas and the Cantores Minores Choir. This year, she will give concerts at the cathedrals of Turku, Tampere, Helsinki, and Kuopio, visit the Piteå School of Music, and represent Finland as an organist at the Nordic Church Music Symposium in Copenhagen, Denmark.