German Violinist Lea Birringer Joins Faculty at Germany's University of Music Würzburg

Birringer will also be part of the leadership team for the university's pre-college program

The German violinist Lea Birringer has been appointed to the faculty of the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, where she will hold a professorship. She will also serve on the leadership team of the school's Pre-College program, where she will shape the curriculum for the school's youngest students.

Founded in 1797, the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg is one of the oldest music schools in Germany. Birringer will join a violin faculty that also includes VC Artist Tobias Feldmann, who in 2018 (at age 26) became one of Germany's youngest music professors.

Lea Birringer studied initially at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, at first in the Pre-College program and then in the Gifted & Talented program at the Leopold Mozart Institute. She later earned her bachelor’s degree under Igor Ozim and completed her master’s degree with Pavel Vernikov in Vienna.

She is a laureate of the Johannes Brahms, Kloster Schöntal, Premio Rodolfo Lipizer, Louis Spohr, and Abram Yampolsky competitions. Birringer has also recorded five discs on Rubicon Classics, with the fifth — featuring the Sibelius and Szymanowski concerti with the State Orchestra Rheinische Philharmonie and conductor Benjamin Shwartz — due for release in 2025.

Previously, she served as Pavel Vernikov’s assistant at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne, as well as being a long-term guest lecturer at the Accademia d’Archi Arrigoni in Italy. Birringer has given masterclasses across Europe, Latin America, and the United States, and has been a regular guest lecturer at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar.

"It’s a great honor to join an institution with such a rich tradition in fostering musical excellence, particularly for gifted young students," Birringer said. "I can’t wait to mentor, support, and inspire the next generation of musicians!"