Zoja Istomina
Zoja Istomina qualified as a violin teacher at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, obtaining a Licentiate Degree in 1974. A former pupil of Yuri Yankelewitz, Yevgenia Zugayeva and Zorja Chikmurzayeva, she has been a lecturer at the Odessa Conservatoire, a teacher of the violin in Damascus, Syria, and, since 1990, a lecturer in the violin at the Kuopio Conservatory in Finland. She has also been leader of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra.
Zoja Istomina is also a much liked and long-standing teacher at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival.