BIO

The cellist Žana Miniotaitė is a solo and chamber music performer, laureate at international music competitions. The vast diversity of her repertoire, encompassing different epochs, her professional concern ranging from Baroque to Contemporary music and the search for individual ways of expression anytime account for the wideness of her artistic horizons and the remarkable unicity of her performative outcome, while her music has resounded across several towns in European Union, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

While still being a student, Žana already took part as a soloist in many music festivals over different countries, she performed over 70 recitals, including a few concerts with orchestras, and she attended various masterclasses. Žana also participated in many music competitions, where she was awarded with the title of laureate, diploma holder and winner of special prizes. While living in Moscow, she would be regularly invited to perform at the events organized by the Embassy of Lithuania.

Žana Miniotaitė was born in 1987 in Russia, from where her grandfather had been exiled a few decades before and where her father, the composer Viktoras Miniotas, was also born. She began to learn music at the age of two and after a few years she would already play in concerts. At first, she was studying violin with her mother, the violinist Svetlana Miniotas, and piano at the music school.

In 1996 Žana and her family moved to Lithuania, where she could first hold a cello in the class of T. Kuc, at the age of ten. In 2001, she was admitted to the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts, where she studied in A. Palšauskas’ class. In 2005, she entered the Academic Music College in Moscow in the class of Ass.

Prof. O. B. Galočkina, daughter of the illustrious cellist

N. N. Shahovskaja. Finally, in 2012 she was admitted to Moscow State Conservatory, where she successfully concluded her studies in the class of Boris Andrianov in 2017. Meanwhile, she could also delve into chamber music under the guidance of world-wide renown musicians such as A. Rudin, A. Korciagin and O. Bugaev.

In 2018, after finishing her studies in Moscow, Žana returned to Lithuania, where she continued pursuing her artistic life. During the past years, she performed several recitals in Anykščiai and Vilnius and took part in several masterclasses, such Birštonas Summer Academy courses, David Geringas’ courses in Vilnius, N. Joens’ courses in Kuldīga, ECMA courses in Vilnius, while also performing at the International Organ Music Festival in Rokiškis (2019, 2020) and the International Aukštaitija Organ Music Festival in Utena. Also in 2019, as a Lithuanian cellist, she was invited to the 11th Gabalos Festival and she won a special prize at Paris Music Competition. In addition, from 2018 she has been collaborating with the Small Theatre of Vilnius for the show “Manno laimė” (directed by Gulnaz Balpeisova), where she starred in the role of a cellist.

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Her previous highlights include appearances at the Taneev Festival in Vladimir (2017), “Musical Spring” in Kaliningrad (2015), “Sugrįžimai” Festival in Vilnius (2015 and 2018); performances of Schumann and Elgar’s Cello Concerti with Vladimir Symphonic Orchestra and Vivaldi, Bruch’s “Kol Nidrei” and Giovanni Sollima’s “Violoncelles vibrez” with Kaliningrad Chamber Orchestra. Also: participation in advanced courses by Umberto Clerici in Moscow (2013), David Geringas in St. Petersburg (2013), Vivacello Festival

in 2016 (G. Sollima, J. P. Maintz) and 2017 (Xavier Philips, Laczlo Fenyo), Klaipėda International Cello Festival (Monika Leskovar).

She also won prizes at the Technical Writing Competition in Moscow (2005), International String Instruments Competition “Symphonic Holidays” in Moscow (2006), International Music Competition “Music without Limits” in Druskininkai (2011), Maria Yudina International Competition for Chamber Music Ensembles in

St. Petersburg (2012).