Bio

Award-Winning Greek violinist Rafailia Kapsokavadi has forged a reputation as a musician of consummate artistry whose performances speak from and to the heart. Hailed as “gifted with self-discipline, diligence and reliability. She knows how to set goals and achieve them” ( daniel Phillips, professor at the Juilliard School), Rafailia is the recipient of several international awards such as the Alion Baltic International Festival, 1st Prize at the Prague Summer Nights International Young Artists Music Festival and Performance Excellence Award and 1st prize/Audience Award at the Pärnu International Music Festival in the summer of 2021. 

Since her solo debut at the age 14 with the Thessaloniki State Orchestra as a soloist, Rafailia has been performing with other orchestras in both Europe and USA, including the MOUSA Greek orchestra, Western Piedmont Symphony, Johnson City Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Tallinn Philharmonia in Estonia, Mannes Orchestra, New England Symphonic Ensemble and Brooklyn Chamber Orchestra, Chelsea Symphony, among others. 

Deeply passionate about collaboration, Rafailia has had the pleasure of performing with such prominent musicians as Albert Markov, Sergei Stadler, Stanislav Pronin, Omiros Yavroumis, David Russell, Ivry Gitlis, Alissa Margulis, Leila Josefowicz, Stefan Jackiw and others. She has performed in venues and festivals such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, David Geffen Hall,  DiMenna Center etc. 

An advocate of community engagement and music education, Rafailia was selected for the Mannes School of Music Community Performances and Partnerships Program’s Ensemble Fellowship, through which her string quartet created interactive educational programs for audiences throughout New York. 

Rafailia received her Bachelor of Music from the Hayes School of Music in North Carolina and her Master’s Degree from Mannes School of Music as the recipient of the Presidential Scholarship at the New School, studying with Daniel and Todd Phillips. Prior to that, she studied with Omiros Yavroumis at the Thessaloniki Conservatory of Music. Past summers have taken her to the Eastern Music Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Taos School of Music, the Meadowmount School of Music and Classical Bridge Music Festival. a

Rafailia is currently performing on an italian violin by Pietro Antonio Dalla Costa, generously on loan from a Charitable Trust. 

Teaching Info

• Weekly assignments/expectations
• Work on fundamental skills such as theory/solfege and scales.