Izabel Markova

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, Izabel began her musical studies with classical piano and singing at the age of three. At the age of eleven she was admitted to the National School of Music in Sofia to study viola with Professor Stefan Jilkov. During her studies she won first prizes in numerous prominent international viola competitions and was invited early on to perform as a soloist with professional orchestras such as Classic FM, Simfonieta Sofia, and The Bulgarian National Radio Philharmonic.

In 2015 Izabel entered the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne where she studied with Alexander Zemtsov. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree, she decided to continue her studies and successfully auditioned for the Master Soloist programme at HEMU, as one of very few violists to be accepted.

As a student, she continued her development as a soloist as well as an ensemble- and orchestra player. In 2017 she was awarded the Special Prize by the Blatow Foundation from the Anton Rubinstein Viola Competition in Düsseldorf.

At the age of 19, she was already employed as a substitute violist in the esteemed Zurich Opera Orchestra. She won a permanent position in the orchestra at 21, becoming one of its youngest members. She has been invited as a guest player in prestigious halls and orchestras such as the Vienna State Opera, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, Camerata Venia Orchestra, United Strings of Europe, Camerata Nordica and others.

Her chamber music experience includes concerts and festivals with world-renowned musicians: Mischa Maisky (Musica Mundi Festival, Belgium), Pavel Vernikov, Svetlana Makarova, Henri Demarquette, Alexander Zemtsov (HEMU concerts), Boris Garlitsky (Villa Musica Festival), to name a few.

In 2021 Izabel reached the final round of the Allegra International Strings Competition in Rousse (Bulgaria) and was the sole viola player to perform a recital and chamber music with members of the jury (Albena Danailova and Peter Somodari). In early 2022, she was invited as a guest player for the prestigious co-solo position of the Luxemburg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Her latest achievement is winning third prize in the 2022 edition of Rahn Music Competition for Strings in Zurich.

Apart from developing as a performer, Izabel is determined to broaden and enrich her musical horizons in the field of arts management and the organisation of classical music events.

She was appointed Planning- and Production Coordinator at Lead! Foundation in January 2022, and was immediately tasked with producing the very first Fiskars Easter Festival 2022.