Devorina Gamalova

Dr Devorina Gamalova graduated as a solo violinist in 1988 from the State Academy of Music in Sofia under Prof Bojan Letchev (D Oistrach’s pupil). The same year, she was appointed the leader of the Riesa Symphony Orchestra (currently Neue Elbland Philharmonie) in Germany, a position she held until 1992. She then moved to England for two years’ postgraduate study at the Royal College of Music with the remarkable Russian violinist Prof Grigory Zhislin, whom she assisted from 1999 to 2003.

In 1994 she was awarded The Leverhulme Trust Scholarship for a further year of advanced solo studies in viola at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under Prof David Takeno, and in 2002 she gained her Master’s degree. In 2008 she completed her PhD at London College of Music (TVU) and was awarded the degree outright.

Since 1989, Devorina has worked extensively as a soloist and chamber musician, including performances for recordings, broadcasts and TV productions in Bulgaria, Germany, Italy and England (BBC Radio 3). Between 1995 and 1998, she was also a regular recitalist for Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now! organisation.

She plays now a 1770 Joseph Gagliano violin and performs throughout Europe as a soloist and also as a recitalist with the eminent pianists Prof Roujka Tcharakchieva (Sofia), Peter Rhodes (UK), and Dessislava Atanassova (Vienna).

Dr Gamalova is also very much in demand as a teacher and combines regular teaching at several conservatories in London and Birmingham with masterclasses in UK, Bulgaria and Italy.