Arina receives Benjamin Britten fellowship

Wednesday 4 July 2018

Award winning pianist Arina Lazgiian has been announced as the recipient of the Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship for 2018/19, awarded by the Royal College of Music. This Fellowship, named after the renowned composer and RCM alumnus, supports an exceptional pianist who has been accepted to the RCM Artist Diploma Course.

Russian pianist Arina, who studies with Professor Vanessa Latarche, said: ‘It is a great honour to become this year’s Benjamin Britten Fellow at the Royal College of Music. I hope to have a warm friendship with my sponsors and look forward to working on some very interesting projects with them in future.’

Arina graduated from the Moscow Conservatory under the renowned pianist Professor Vera Gornostaeva in 2015. She graduated from the Royal College of Music with a Masters in Performance in 2018 and will embark upon an Artist Diploma in September 2018. Arina was a Future of Russia Scholar while she was studying for her Masters degree. Since arriving at the RCM, she has won the RCM Concerto Competition 2017 playing Saint-Saens’ Concerto no 2., which she later performed with the RCM Philharmonic Orchestra. Arina won the Hopkinson Gold Medal last year and was also a finalist of the 2017 Jaques Samuel Intercollegiate Piano Competition.

The Benjamin Britten Piano Fellowship is awarded by the Royal College of Music in association with the Philip Loubser Foundation, which supports young talent in dance, music and theatre.  Michael Loubser, Creative Director of the Foundation, notes: ‘The Fellowship celebrates the achievement of Benjamin Britten as a pianist, and in his name supports an outstanding international talent through the academic year and, after graduation, to a solo career.’