Sergej Tchirkov

Sergej Tchirkov was born in St.Petersburg in 1980 and has studied the accordion at the Rimsky-Korsakov Special Secondary Music Liceum. He graduated from the State St.Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire in 2003 (class of prof. Alexander Dmitriev). In 2003-2005 he took post-graduate course being an assistant-teacher.

He has attended seminars on composition conducted by Sergei Slonimsky, Gerard McBurney and Ernst-Helmuth Flammer. In 2004 he received scolarship from the European Center of Arts Hellerau (EzdK) where he also studied improvisation with Anton Lukaszeviece.

Tchirkov has been awarded prizes at following international competitions:

- 2003 “Ctta di Capistrello” (Italy)

- 2001 “Lasse Pihlajamaa competition for virtuoso accordionists” (Finland)

- 2001 “Coupe Mondiale” (Great Britain)

- 1999 “Citta di Castelfidardo” (Italy)

- 1999 “Citta di Lanciano” (Italy)

- 1998 “Citta di Castelfidardo” (Italy)

- 1996 “Coupe Mondiale” jr. Cat. (Slovak republic)

- 1996 “Andreev competition” (Russia)

Tchirkov has perfmored at various new music festivals including Sound Ways, Territoria, Dresden Days of Contemporary Music, Pythian Games, Musical spring in St.Petersburg, Northern flowers. In 2002 he was guest performer at EXPO 2002 (Switzerland).

He has played as a soloist and a member of an orchestra with such collectives as Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, ensemble Musica Aeterna, Neue Dresdner Kammermusik etc. under direction of Valery Gergiev, Teodor Currentzis, Timothy Redmond, Arkady Steinlucht, Federico Mondelci.

Sergej Tchirkov collaborates with many composers such as Pierluigi Billone, Ivan Fedele, John Palmer, Dieter Schnebel, Martin Schlumpf, Matthias Müller, Dmitri Kourliandski, Alexander Radvilovich, Sergej Newski, Boris Filanovski a.o. and premiered numerous works featuring the accordion.

Since 2004 Tchirkov has conducted lectures on new music held in Switzerland and Russia and has been an adjudicator at several composers and new music competitions. His thesis on John Palmer’s DRANG for accordion solo has been recommended as an education tool for high schools of music.

Since 2011 he teaches at the International New Music Academy organized by Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble in the town of Tchaikovsky.

Tchirkov regularly performes with following ensembles:

- Pro Arte Foundation eNsemble (St.Petersburg)

- Zero ensemble (Zürich)

- Moscow Comtemporary Music Ensemble (Moscow)

- Studio of New Music (Moscow)

More about Sergej Tchirkov: www.tchirkov.eu