Biography

“irresistible” -The Boston Globe

“…a gigantic spitfire of a player.  She tears into the most difficult passages with relish and pristine execution.

Even the most mundane passages bristle with excitement in her hands.” -TheaterJones.com

“Four Strings Around the World” recording reviews

“On all levels, a very impressive release.  -Limelight–Australia’s Classical Music and Arts Magazine

“…quite stunning… …one of the best solo CDs I’ve heard.” -The Whole Note

Romanian-born violinist Irina Muresanu transcends the traditional definition of a concert artist. She is a performer, scholar, commissioner, researcher, and cultural ambassador, who has built a career driven by a single conviction: that the violin is a vehicle for human connection across every border — geographic, cultural, and technological.

A laureate and winner of top prizes in several prestigious international violin competitions including the Montreal International, Queen Elisabeth, UNISA International String, Washington International, and the Schadt String Competition, Muresanu achieved international acclaim early on. Muresanu’s awards also include the Presser Award, the Arthur Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association, the Creative and Performing Arts Award from the University of Maryland, a prestigious New Music USA Grant, and a Pro Musicis International Award. 

Muresanu’s 2026-27 season includes solo, recital and chamber music appearances in renowned venues and festivals. As part of her commitment to innovative repertoire, Muresanu has commissioned from Chickasaw composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate the first known violin concerto by an American Indian performer. She will perform the world premiere of “Hattak Hiloha” (Thunder Beings) with the National Orchestra Institute, followed by the West Coast premiere at the Cabrillo Festival. Muresanu will also appear as soloist in the United States, France, Spain, Macedonia, Lithuania, and the Cayman Islands.

In parallel, Muresanu's acclaimed solo violin multi-media program “Four Strings Around the World - which celebrates the diversity of music cultures worldwide through works of composers from five continents - continues to evolve. At the present moment, it includes composers from 5 continents and 18 countries. The ever-evolving project includes staple masterpieces for solo violin such as the Bach Chaconne, alongside commissioned new works of Indian composer Shirish Korde, Native American composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Nigerian composer Fred Onovwerosuoke, Iranian composer Sanam Gharacheh, and Jamaican composer Mikhail Johnson. Released as a solo violin CD in 2018 by the Grammy-nominated Sono Luminus label, the CD has been called an "illuminating release" by the Boston Globe. The program was highlighted in a Virtual Reality collaboration with the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies. 

Muresanu has recently launched a project called “Itineraries”, which follows a geographical trajectory through composers from the respective countries. Recent journeys of this program were “From Madrid to Bucharest” (with pianist Daniel del Pino), and “From Tel Aviv to New York” (with cellist Julian Schwarz), with more to follow in future seasons. The acclaimed violinist is an ambassador of Romanian music, which she promotes on a regular basis, often in programs with her long-term duo partner, the pianist Dana Ciocârlie. An active chamber musician and recitalist, Ms. Muresanu is a member of the Boston Trio and has appeared as guest artist in such festivals and venues as New York City’s Bargemusic, Massachusetts’ Rockport Festival, Maine’s Bay Chambers concert series and Bowdoin Festival, Colorado’s Strings in the Mountains and San Juan Music Festival, Hawaii’s Maui Chamber Music Festival, The Netherland’s Reizend Music Festival, Belgium’s Festival van de Leie, and the Rencontres des Musiciennes Festival in France and the Guadeloupe island.

Irina Muresanu has performed numerous works written and dedicated to her, such as the Elena Ruehr’s Violin Concerto no. 1. Her most recent releases are “Irina Muresanu plays Violeta Dinescu” of solo violin works by Violeta Dinescu (September 2023) and “Hybrid, Hints and Hooks” of solo and violin/piano works by Romanian composer Dan Dediu (October 2021), both on Métier label. Other recent recordings include Thomas Oboe Lee’s Violin Concerto (also dedicated to Ms. Muresanu) on the BMOP label, and works by Elena Ruehr for the Avie Records CD “Lift,” included on Keith Powers’ 13 Best Classical Music Recordings of 2016. She has also recorded the complete William Bolcom sonatas on the Centaur label with pianist Michael Lewin, funded by the Copland Recording Grant, and the Guillaume Lekeu and Alberic Magnard late Romantic Violin and Piano Sonatas with pianist Dana Ciocarlie for the French label AR RE-SE (“singing and soaring…[a] sizzling performance.” Fanfare). Of note among additional recordings is the world premiere recording of Marion Bauer’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, with pianist Virginia Eskin for Albany Records.

Muresanu's research is equally ambitious. She holds a three-year National Science Foundation grant and a UMD Grand Challenges grant for her work on vAIolin, an AI-powered platform to democratize music education, developed at the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies. Muresanu has recently been awarded the prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award and the Independent Scholarship, Research and Creativity Award from the University of Maryland, for her project “Infinite Strings”: the creation of a platform designed to promote violin music by Romanian composers. Muresanu is among a rare cohort of performing artists with active affiliations in a School of Music, a Computer Science, and an AI research institute.

Irina Muresanu is a Professor in the School of Music, Affiliate Faculty in the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, and Affiliate Faculty in the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at the University of Maryland, and has been on the faculties of Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Harvard and MIT Music Departments. She holds a prestigious Artist Diploma degree and a Doctor in Musical Arts degree from the New England Conservatory, where she studied with the legendary French violinist Michèle Auclair. Muresanu plays an 1849 Giuseppe Rocca violin and a Dominique Peccatte bow.

Website: www.irinamuresanu.com

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