The Colburn School Announces New Faculty Member

Soon to join the Colburn School’s string faculty, Russian-born German violist Tatjana Masurenko will be teaching viola and chamber music in the school’s renowned Conservatory of Music as well as its Music Academy for emerging pre-college musicians.

Previously, Masurenko has served as professor of viola at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig since 2002 and Switzerland’s Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne since 2019. She is the artistic director of Turkey’s International Viola Camp in Iznik and has held masterclasses across Europe and the U.S.

As a teacher, she is dedicated to developing the viola as a solo instrument and its role in contemporary music. Several of her students have built successful careers and travel internationally as soloists, professors, chamber musicians, and principal violists in major orchestras.

Growing up in a family of Russian academics and jazz musicians, Masurenko began her music studies in St. Petersburg. She also studied with Kim Kashkashian and Nobuko Imai in Germany, while other mentors included Boris Pergamenschikow, György Kurtág, Brigitte Fassbaender, and Herbert Blomstedt.

Her artistic collaborators have involved composers such as Gladys Krenek, Moritz von Gagern, Dimitri Terzakis, Wolfgang Rihm, Hans-Christian Bartel, Luca Lombardi, and Nejat Başeğmezler. 

“To join the Colburn School is to be a part of a passionate and nurturing community,” said Masurenko in the press release. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I cannot wait to work with the school’s exceptional students and collaborate alongside the school’s esteemed faculty.”

“Teaching excellence has been a hallmark of the Colburn School since our founding,” explained Colburn School’s President and CEO, Sel Kardan. “Following an extensive international search, we are delighted to have Tatjana Masurenko, one of the world’s greatest violists, join our artist faculty of virtuoso performers and pedagogues.”

“[Masurenko] models extraordinary artistry as a soloist and chamber musician, as well as a dedication to teaching and fostering future generations of transformative artists,” added Conservatory Dean Lee Cioppa. “Her presence on the faculty will enrich not just her students, but the entire Colburn School community.”