Madrid, 26 March 2021.- The Reina Sofía School of Music will have from 2021-2022 academic year two new professors. German violinist and conductor Christoph Poppen will lead one of the three Telefónica Violin Chairs, and German pianist with Ukrainian roots Milana Chernyavska will take over the Fundación Banco Santander Piano Chair after the recent death of Maestro Dmitri Bashkirov.

The Telefónica Violin Chair was created during the School’s first academic year, 1991-1992, under the guidance of Maestro Zakhar Bron. In 2007 it was extended with a new chair with Professor Marco Rizzi, and in 2010 with Professor Ana Chumachenco, who left the School last year. Over these years, 210 violinists from 40 nationalities have been trained at the School. They are outstanding artists such as Latica Honda-Rosenberg, Ana María Valderrama, Sabrina Vivian Höpcker, Kirill Trousov, Leticia Moreno, Giovanni Guzzo, Vera Martínez-Mehner and Miguel Colom, among others.

On the other hand, the Fundación Banco Santander Piano Chair has had maestro Dmitri Bashkirov as Professor since the very beginning of the School. In the 2000-2001 academic year, a second chair was added with Professor Galina Eguiazarova. Throughout these 30 years 118 pianists from 38 nationalities have studied with the most important artists on the international scene such as Arcadi Volodos, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Eldar Nebolsin, Claudio Martínez-Mehner, Juan Pérez Floristán, Plamena Mangova, Denis Kozhukhin and Víctor & Luis del Valle, among others.

Coinciding with these new additions to the Reina Sofía School’s faculty, the application period is now open for the auditions of both chairs for the 2021-2022 academic year. The deadline for applying have is 15 April Tuition is free for all students. Furthermore, the School has a system of scholarships and financial assistance to enable young musicians cover all their needs during the academic year.

For application and information regarding the admission process, click here