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Vira Zhuk was invited as a jury member of Shenzhen International String competition in China
Biography
Vienna-based Ukrainian violinist Vira Zhuk, is proudly continuing the rich traditions of the Ukrainian school of violin performance, that have been passed down to her directly from the great David Oistrakh via her mentors in Ukraine and Austria. Zhuk effortlessly combines the Ukrainian virtuosity and deep melancholic tone with the finesse of Viennese musicianship. As a soloist and a chamber musician she has performed in 30 countries on five continents, at prestigious venues such as the Musikverein Wien, Konzerhaus Wien, Flagey in Brussels, ORF RadioKulturhaus, Auditorio Nacional de Musica in Madrid, Danish Royal Opera, Süreyya Opera in Istanbul, and many others.
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Vira Zhuk is a founding member of the Trio Immersio, that has been distinguished with a number of awards and prizes including the Brivio Sforza Award of Le Dimore del Quarteto as one of the best ensembles, the prestigious New Sound of Austrian Music award of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs given to selected musicians to bear the honor of representing the musical culture and traditions of Austria all over the globe. Trio Immersio is also the winner of Bank of Austria Prix d'Arts.
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In the last seasons Vira Zhuk was invited as a jury member of Shenzhen International String Competition in China, as a violin instructor at Vienna Workshop and gave master classes at Tarapaca Musica Festival in Chile, Clasclas Festival in Spain and Morelia Music Festival in Mexico.
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Vira has been in the spotlight of the national musical arena from a very early age. Her extraordinary talent has led to appearances in the biggest concert venues in Ukraine such as the Grand Hall of National Philharmonie at the age of seven and a debut as a soloist with the J. S. Bach concerto when she was ten. After several years of guidance from Lyobov Marinenko, Vira entered the Lysenko Music School for gifted children in Kyiv to continue working with the famous Yaroslawa Rivnyak. In her school years Vira has been invited to perform at various national and international festivals such as Kunst verbindet, New names - young stars of Ukraine, Vladimir Horowitz Foundation Festival, Festival di Spoleto, Festival di Musica di Portogruaro, Eilat International Chamber Music Festival, Festival Lucca Estate just to name a few.
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Immediately after graduating from the Music Gymnasium in Kyiv, Vira moved to Vienna to continue her studies with the legendary violinist Pavel Vernikov at the Musik und Kunst Universität der Stadt Wien. Also, Vira won the scolarschip of the International competition training course at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Florence. Vira's musical development has been influenced by artistic impulses from Mauricio Fuks, Alfred Brendel, and Menahem Pressler.
MUSIC
GALLERY
TRIO IMMERSIO
Trio Immersio, one of Vienna's top chamber music ensembles, decribed as 'the blooming power of Viennese elegance' by The Times of Malta. Concert activities have brought this multi-cultural ensemble with members from Ukraine, Georgia and The Netherlands to 20 countries on four continents, including tours of Japan, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Tunisia e.t.c. In 2023 Trio Immersio will expand its geography with tours of South Africa and China. Major highlights of the coming season include debut at the Berlin Konzerthaus, recording of an all-Schubert CD, residency at the Iceberg Institute in Vienna (U.S.-Austria) and performance of the Beethoven Triple Concerto.
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Trio Immersio has performed at prestigious venues such as the Musikverein Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, RadioKulturhaus Wien, Flagey in Brussels, Royal Danish Opera, Teatru Manoel in Malta, Theatre Sorano in Dakar, CRR Konser Salonu in Istanbul, Schönberg Centre, Ancient Amphitheater in Bodrum, Kyiv Philharmonie, Tbilisi State Conservatoire and has been a guest of the Carthage festival in Tunusia, the 30th Morelia Festival in Mexico, 45th International Istanbul Music Festival, Austrian Spring in Poland etc.​
Trio Immersio has been distinguished with a number of awards and prizes including the Brivio Sforza Award of Le Dimore del Quarteto as one of the best ensembles of 2019, the prestigious New Sound of Austrian Music award of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs given to select musicians to bear the honor of representing the musical culture and traditions of Austria all over the globe. Trio Immersio is also the winner of Bank of Austria Prix d'Arts in 2016.
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The intimate bond that Trio Immersio has with the musical culture of Vienna is particularly expressed in their interpretation of works by J. Haydn, L. Van Beethoven and F. Schubert.
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Trio Immersio promotes chamber music as a lifestyle and believes in full immersion into the sound world of vivid emotions, colors and ideas. Their particular authenticity and sincerity has gained Trio Immersio special connection with the audiences in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.​
Vira Zhuk & Mariam Vardzelashvili
Winners of the Bank Austria Prix d'Art 2018, ukrainian violinist Vira Zhuk and georgian pianist Mariam Vardzelashvili are two independent artists who created an intimate chamber music ensemble. The Duo fascinates audiences with highly individual approach and fresh reading of the works and enchants with a vibrant stage presence. United by the idea of exploring and expanding the boundaries of the repertoire for violin and piano the two musicians have found new approach to the pinnacle pieces for the two instruments, as well as commissioned works by major Austrian, Georgian and Ukrainian composers.
Vira Zhuk and Mariam Vardzelashvili have created a mixture of the musical influences from their home countries with the rich traditions of the Viennese Chamber music-making, preserving and modernizing the genre. Lately, the duo has performed at prestigious venues and concert series such as the Alte Rathaus Wien and Palais Atzenbrugg 'Schubertiade' in Austria, Phelps Mansion Museum in New York, West Virginia University Bloch Hall in USA, Tarapaca Musica Festival in Chile, Clasclas Festival in Spain, National Parliamentary Library of Georgia etc.
In 2018 the Duo has reliesed their CD #onthemove dedicated to three important cities in their lives- Vienna, Kyiv and Tbilisi. Several comissions and premiers as well as staple repertoire pieces by F. Schubert can be heard on the record.
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