Marianna Shirinyan becomes new Piano Professor at RDAM
The Royal Danish Academy of Music has appointed Marianna Shirinyan as Professor of Piano after three years as a visiting professor.
Armenian-Danish Marianna Shirinyan has established herself as one of the most creative and sought-after pianists of her generation in Europe. With a repertoire ranging from the Baroque to the modern composers, she has performed with international orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Oslo Philharmonic. In addition to her work at RDAM and her soloist career, she has curated chamber music festivals such as Oremandsgaard Chamber Music Festival, Valdres Summer Symphony, Kapan International Music Festival and is a welcome guest at chamber music festivals in Denmark and abroad.
“It is a great pleasure for me to have been appointed Professor and to be able to continue my teaching with my talented and enthusiastic students. I also look forward to collaborating with my brilliant colleagues in an inspiring environment – musically, personally and professionally. I am honored to be able to participate in working with the young students at such a high-profile institution as RDAM,” says Marianna Shirinyan.
In Marianna's words, teaching at RDAM is to open doors for talent and building relationships with the next generation of professional musicians. According to her, the education of young people at RDAM takes place in a safe environment - and safety is a very important element for her. “The students need to be challenged and helped to find their own path. The competition element should be constructive – not destructive,” says Marianna. As a newly appointed piano professor, she joins the other two piano professors Niklas Sivelöv and Jens Elvekjær as well as the other teaching team in the piano subject group. She looks forward to continuing to be there for her students and passing on the best to them.
President Helene Gjerris says
“We are extremely proud to appoint Marianna Shirinyan as Professor of Piano. Throughout her years as a Visiting Professor, Marianna has shown a deep dedication to the pedagogical work with the education of RDAM's students, and throughout the institution we look forward to continuing to benefit from the great inspiration that we can draw from Marianna's strong and versatile artistic profile,” says President Helene Gjerris.
From war child to piano professor
Marianna Shirinyan made her first musical steps in her native Armenia. Born into a family of musicians, she built the foundation for her career as a pianist at the Tchaikovsky Music School in Yerevan. As a teenager in the then war-torn country, she was accepted into a four-year German music programme, which gave her the opportunity to travel to Germany to study and participate in masterclasses with renowned musicians such as Menahem Pressler, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Yfrah Niemann, among others, and to play many concerts throughout Germany. At the age of 18, she moved to Germany, where she studied at the Musikhochschule Lübeck while working as an accompanist for the violin class of the legendary Thomas Brandis. While studying in Lübeck, Marianna also got a position as pianist in the Esbjerg Ensemble, which brought her to Denmark, where she now lives with her family.
In 2006, she received the 2nd prize and special prizes from the Munich Chamber Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra at the German ARD Music Competition. This opened many doors for her and became the catalyst for her soloist career. She received her first piano professorship at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2015 and was subsequently appointed Visiting Professor at RDAM in 2021. At the Norwegian Academy of Music she will hold a visiting professorship from 2021-2024.
Here you can read more about Marianna Shirinyan
