Sofya Gandilyan

Sofya Gandilyan (b. 1984), PhD, is a harpsichordist, fortepianist, and musicologist. She won 2nd place at the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges and the Honorary Mention Prize in the »Prague Spring« Harpsichord Competition.
In 2012, Sofya received a doctoral degree at the Moscow P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory with her dissertation on J.J. Froberger and his keyboard music. In 2013, she completed her Master’s degree in harpsichord and basso continuo under Prof. A. M. Spaans at the University of Music in Trossingen. She then pursued further studies in harpsichord and fortepiano with Prof. Chr. Schornsheim at the University of Music and Theatre Munich (HMTM).

Since 2009, Sofya has been engaged in university-level music education. From 2009 to 2011, she taught at the State Classical Maimonides Academy in Moscow. She has also given seminars and masterclasses at Nanchang University (China), the Rostock University of Music and Theatre, the University of Music Lübeck, and the Moscow Conservatory. Since 2018, she has been teaching at the University of Music and Theatre Munich.
Sofya is the artistic director of the ensemble Svapinga Consort, which has organised the concert series »Early Music in Schwabing« since 2016. In addition to her work with students, she manages the concert series »Musica Poetica« – a collaboration between the university, the Kreuzkirche, and the Svapinga Consort non-profit Association.

Her musical career is complemented by CD and radio recordings on both harpsichord and fortepiano. Sofya has performed a repertoire ranging from Frescobaldi to Martinu and Nyman in various European countries, as well as in Brazil, China and USA.