Born in Romania, Mariana Sirbu studied at the Bucharest at the Academy of Music, and has appeared as soloist in many of the world’s great concert halls. In 1968 she was a founder of the Academica String Quartet, with which she toured widely. With the quartet, she was a prize-winner at several international competitions including Liège 1972, München 1973, Geneva 1974, and Belgrade 1975. In 1985 she joined the Trio di Milano with pianist Bruno Canino and cellist Rocco Filippini. In 1992 Sirbu joined the celebrated Italian chamber music group I Musici as leader and soloist, and until 2003 toured the world and recorded numerous CDs with them. In 1994 she established the Quartetto Stradivari. She has given master classes in Spain, Ireland, Holland, Canada (The Banff Centre), France, Switzerland, Japan, and Italy. She teaches violin and chamber music to post-graduate students at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Florence, is professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelhsson Bartholdy” in Leipzig, Germany, and is visiting professor at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick, Ireland. She was recently appointed principal guest director of the Irish Chamber Orchestra.