Julia Sakharova

Julia Sakharova is an internationally established concert artist, known for her performances as a soloist, orchestra performer, and chamber musician. She has been described by critics as projecting “incredible temperament, very fine sensitivity, and remarkable colors” and hailed for her “technically thrilling” and “powerful musical personality.” Ms. Sakharova was a member of the nationally recognized and critically acclaimed Arianna String Quartet and served on the music faculty at the University of Missouri St. Louis.  Prior to that tenure, she was an Assistant Concertmaster with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Albany Symphony in New York. She has also been a Visiting Professor at St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

At the age of eight, Ms. Sakharova made her solo orchestral debut with the Moldova Philharmonic Orchestra. She has since appeared on numerous stages including Alice Tully Hall, Steinway Hall, Carnegie Hall, and the Library of Congress. She has performed in numerous festivals, recitals, tours, and competitions across her native Russia, Western and Southern Europe, Japan, South America, and the United States.

After graduating from Moscow’s prestigious Central Special Music School under the renowned Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Ms. Sakharova moved to the U.S. to continue her education at Oberlin College, studying with Taras Gabora, Almita Vamos and Milan Vitek. A year later she made her West Coast solo debut at the Getty Center with composer and conductor John Williams and the Oberlin Orchestra. Julia earned a master’s degree from the Juilliard School, studying with Donald Weilerstein. While at Juilliard, she made her New York City orchestral debut under the baton of Maestro Mark Stringer and the Juilliard Orchestra, as well as her chamber music debut at New York’s Alice Tully Hall. Subsequently, she received a certificate for orchestral performance from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Glenn Dicterow and Lisa Kim of the New York Philharmonic.

In addition to the Arianna String Quartet’s entire Beethoven Cycle on Centaur label, Ms. Sakharova was featured on Rachmaninoff's Elegiaque Piano Trios (Tavros Records) and on the release of Sean Hickey’s Cursive – Piano and Chamber Works (Delos). Mr. Hickey dedicated Ampersand, a work for violin and piano, to Ms. Sakharova, which she debuted at a Steinway Hall recital. A variety of other performances have also been featured in radio broadcasts on WQXR's “Young Artists Showcase,” KMZT's “Sundays Live”, Cleveland's WCLV, and on St. Louis’ KWMU. Ms. Sakharova's film score credits include Mimzy, The Perfect Stranger, and The Brave One.

Her competition credits include first prize at the International Competition for the Music of Eastern & Central Europe, Top Prize at the Olga Koussevitzky Competition for Strings, a top prize at the Jeunesses Musicales Montreal International Competition, and the first prize of the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition.

Ms. Sakharova has performed at festivals including the Music Academy of the West, Festival International de Colmar, the Verbier Festival & Academy, Keshet Eilon Violin Mastercourse, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, and the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

Ms. Sakharova has been a dedicated educator, conducting masterclasses at the University of Iowa School of Music, Alabama School of Fine Arts, and Birmingham Southwestern College. She has also taught and appeared on stage at the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, Music Mountain Chamber Series, Madeline Island Music Camp and the Femusc Festival in Brazil. Her residencies include the Peabody Conservatory, Oberlin College, Northern Illinois University, and Northwestern University. She is the recipient of the Artist Teacher Award from the American String Teachers Association. Ms. Sakharova has been a regular guest artist at the International Glezarova Music Festival in Moscow and conducted online violin masterclasses.  

Julia Sakharova is a newly appointed Assistant Professor of Instruction in Violin at the University of Northern Iowa as well as the Concertmaster of Orchestra Iowa.