Sofia
Cherecheș

Ana Sofia Cherecheș was born in 2008, Bucharest, Romania. Piano became her passion early in life and she started studying it by age six under the tutelage of Grațiela Popescu and Gabriela Stepan. She is currently a talented eleventh grade student at George Enescu National Music College, under the guidance of Professor Gabriela Enășescu.

Thanks to her rigorous technique and refined interpretations, Ana Sofia Cherecheș stands out and is appreciated at numerous national and international competitions, becoming an Olympian with the First Prize at the National Stage of the Musical Interpretation Olympics. She also obtained:

• The Trophy of the International Piano Competition “Bucovina Muzicală”
• The Grand Prize of the “Ștefania și Dan Cumpătă” Competition
• The Grand Prize of the category at the International Festival of Arts in Câmpina
• First Prize & ”Sandu Sandrin” Prize, Craiova Piano International Competition
• The Trophy of the National Competition ”Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart”
• Special Award “Città di Cantù” for the youngest talent of the 33rd International Piano and Orchestra Competition Città di Cantù 2025 (brilliant performance of Mendelssohn’s Concerto in G minor), Italy
• The Grand Prize - International Youth Music Competitions, Atlanta, USA, 2025
• The Grand Prize - of the “Ada Ulubeanu” Competition, 2026

...and many other awards, among which we mention Craiova Piano International, “Ion Dumitrescu” Festival Competition (Bucharest), Pro Piano Romania, Franz Liszt Center (Spain), César Franck (Belgium), Young Euregio (Germany), IMF Paris (France), Euplayy (Germany), Orbetello Jr (Italy), Silk Way (Moscow), Vienna New Year’s Concert Competition (Austria), Piano Talents (Italy), WPTA IPC (Spain).

Her passion for music also awakens Sofia’s interest in composing. Thus, at the age of only 8, she published the album of compositions for solo piano “Sweet Childhood”. She won First Prizes at the composition competitions “Ion Dumitrescu”, Elite International (Iași) and IYMC (USA) with works such as Piano Suite and Pour Satie. At the Ars Astra competition in Moscow, she won the Special Prize for film music and the Prize for the youngest composer participant. In 2023 she was awarded the First Prize for her first orchestral work “Icarus and Daedalus” at the “Ion Dumitrescu” Festival-Competition in Bucharest.

Sofia enjoyed master classes with great names of pianism: Rolf Plagge (Austria), Markus Schirmer (Austria), Christopher Hinterhuber (Austria), Andreas Frolich (Germany), Lavinia Coman, Vlad Dimulescu, Florian Mitrea (GB), Toma Popovici and Viniciu Moroianu. She also had numerous opportunities to perform on important stages in the country and in the capital (Suțu Palace in Bucharest, Brâncovenesc Palace in Mogoșoaia, Culture House in Buftea, Culture House in Bușteni, Dinu Lipatti House of Arts in Bucharest, “George Enescu” Memorial House in Sinaia, “Paul Constantinescu” Philharmonic in Ploiești, Culture House in Horodnic de Sus, Culture House in Rădăuți, Philharmonic from Brașov, “Ion Dumitrescu” Philharmonic in Râmnicu Vâlcea), as well as invitations to TV shows and recorded recitals for TV broadcasting. In March 2026, she was awarded the SoNoRo Interferențe scholarship (an educational program for solo instrument and chamber music).

In 2024 she debuted in the DUO band, alongside her colleague – Filippos Klapsinakis, on which occasion they obtained several first prizes in competitions as well as the Grand Prize of the Schezo International Interpretation Competition in Bucharest. They also gave recitals on two pianos in Romania and Greece.

In May 2025, she debuted with orchestra, performing Mendelssohn's Concerto No. 1 under the conduction of Maestro Ovidiu Bălan and "Mihail Jora" Philharmonic Orchestra Bacău and with "Ion Dumitrescu" Philharmonic Orchestra Ramnicu Vâlcea conducted by Maestro Constantin Grigore.

From August 2023 on, Ana-Sofia became a scholar of the Foundation For Community, MOL Romania.