Sofya Zhilina was born in 2006 in the city of Vladimir, located in the Vladimir Region of Russia. Between 2014 and 2020, she studied at the S. S. Prokofiev Children’s School of the Arts No. 2 in Vladimir, in the class of Irina Yerkova. She is a graduate of the Secondary Special Music School of the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, where she studied under Vladimir Ushakov. She is currently enrolled at the N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, continuing her studies in the class of Associate Professor Denis Lupachev.
She is a prizewinner at a number of international competitions:
In 2020:
– She received the Second Prize at the International Gnessin Competition-Festival (Moscow).
In 2021:
– She won the First Prize at the IV International Music Festival “Good Win Art” (Moscow).
– She took the First Prize at the Russian-American International Competition “Crescendo” (Saint Petersburg).
– She was awarded the Third Prize at the International Competition “Northern Rhapsody” (Petrozavodsk).
In 2023:
– She secured the First Prize at the International Competition for Young Flutists in Tampere, Finland.
She has taken part in masterclasses led by Oleg Mikhailovsky, Olga Ivusheikova, Natalia Polunova, Diana Krivenko, Alexander Golyshev, Oleg Khudyakov, Maria Fedotova, Paolo Taballione, Karin Bonelli, Sofia Viland, and Irina Stachitskaya.
She has also participated in educational programs at the Sirius Educational Center (Sochi), masterclasses held within the framework of the Flute Festival at the Mariinsky Theatre (Saint Petersburg), and the 14th International Adams Flute Festival (The Netherlands).
Sofya is a recipient of the Governor’s Award of the Vladimir Region “Pride of the Land of Vladimir.” In 2022, she took part in the Finnish Flute Fest (Finland).
Since 2022, she has been a participant in the programs of the Saint Petersburg Music House.