Istvan Barnacz

Istvan Barnacz started playing the violin at the age of 4 and grew up in a musician family. Both parents were professional musicians (professors - mother double bass and piano and father french horn), and were the last generation students of the legendary Zoltan Kodaly and Gyorgy Kurtag. His brother and sister are professional violinists, and elder brother cello and viola de gamba soloist and teacher. Being surrounded by professional musicians created such a keen atmosphere that helped him develop an ear for music, and got into the 'Special Young Talents' Course' at age 10 at Bela Bartok Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Music, University of Szeged.

He studied from a number of well known professors, such as Prof. Edward Zienkovsky and Prof. Jouri Smirnov at Vienna Academy of Music - where he won full scholarship; also from Prof. Marta Svikruha at the Academy of Music in Gyor and Prof. Eszter Perenyi at Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary.

He won various highly prestigious national and international competitions, among them was the Emil Vajda National Violin Competition in Hungary and the International Chamber Music Competition in Arezzo, Italy. He finished 3rd at Janos Koncz National Violin Competition where he won the Audience Choice Award.

During decades of professional performance as a soloist he gave solo concerts internationally in well known concert halls, theatres and opera houses in Russia, Ukraine, Germany, China, Ireland, Switzerland, Hungary as so on. He was working with Irish National TV and Radio - RTÉ National Symphony and Concert Orchestra as freelance. He has also been teaching and giving master classes in Ireland and abroad in various universities and concert halls such as The National University of Ireland in County Kildare.