viii m. k. čiurlionis international piano and organ competition

Ivari ilja

| Estonia

IVARI ILJA (Estonia) studied piano at the Tallinn State Conservatoire with prof. Laine Mets, and at the Moscow State P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatoire with prof. Vera Gornostayeva and prof. Sergey Dorensky. I. Ilja is a piano professor, from 2000 to 2015 he was head of keyboard studies at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre; in 2017 he was elected Rector of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. He has given masterclasses, among other places, at the Guildhall School of Music in London, Latvian Academy of Music in Riga, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Royal Northern College of Music Manchester, etc. He also has served as a jury member in several international competitions. I. Ilja’s students include several prize winners of international piano competitions. The pianist held solo recitals in France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Estonia, China, Russia, Sweden, Finland and performed as a soloist with several symphony orchestras. I. Ilja is a recognized accompanist and ensemble musician. His collaboration with renowned singers Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Irina Arkhipova, Maria Guleghina etc. has been particularly successful and acclaimed. Together they have performed on many of the greatest concert stages of the world, including Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall of New York, The Kennedy Center of Washington D.C., Queen Elizabeth Hall and Barbican Hall in London, Suntory Hall of Tokyo, Musikverein of Vienna. In 2001, Ivari Ilja won the Estonian National Culture Award and in 2006, the prize of the Estonian Music Council.

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