A French harpist born in Saint Petersburg, Ionella Marinutsa pursues a career as soloist
and pedagogue between France and the international stage.
In 2020, she recorded for Naxos an album devoted to the harp works of Boris
Tishchenko, including his Harp Concerto, a work of exceptional technical complexity. The
international press responded with unanimous praise: ” Marinutsa is excellent throughout “
(DSCH Journal, UK), ” Marinutsa displays her considerable gifts throughout the concerto “
(Musical Opinion, UK).
On stage, she performs as soloist in France and abroad, the International Music Festival of Alba in Italy, the Festival Debussy, the Rencontres Internationales de la Harpe in Île-de-France, Violoncelles en Folies, Buëch-Durance, with orchestras including the Orchestre de Sorbonne Université, the Orchestre des Alpes du Sud OPUS and Les Folies Concertantes.
In 2018, she gave the world premiere of Anthony Girard’s Double Concerto for violin and harp with the Orchestra of the CRR de Paris. That same year, she took part in an acoustic research project at IRCAM Paris. She has also worked as an orchestral musician with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris. Her competition record reflects an early and sustained international presence.At seventeen, she won First Prize at the Concours Symphonie in Russia, performing for the first time with orchestra under the baton of Edouard Serov, a disciple of Evgeny Mravinsky. She subsequently won First Prize at the 89th Concours International Léopold Bellan in Paris, the Special Jury Prize at the 2nd International Harp Competition in Hungary, and was named one of four semi-finalists at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2016. In 2025, she was selected among the 44 candidates retained for the USA International Harp Competition, from a field of over one hundred applicants worldwide.
Ionella Marinuța began studying the harp in Saint Petersburg at the Okhtinskiy Centre for Artistic Education in the class of Antonina Kurkanova, before continuing her training at the M. P. Mussorgsky College of Music in the class of Irina Donskaya-Tishchenko. Recognised during a masterclass, she was invited to further develop her artistry in France under Isabelle Perrin, Ghislaine Petit-Volta and Isabelle Moretti, leading figures of the French harp school.
She graduated from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, where she obtained Master’s degrees in performance and pedagogy. She also holds the French State Diploma of Professor of Harp (Certificat d’Aptitude) and a degree in musicology from Sorbonne University. Her artistic activity is supported by the Kriegelstein Funds, the Meyer Foundation, the Safran Foundation, the Société Générale Musical Sponsorship and the Porosus Endowment Fund.
For Ionella Marinutsa, teaching is inseparable from the art of performance. In 2026, she was appointed Professor of Harp at the Académie Rainier III in Monaco, where she brings to her students the same artistic standards that define her work as a soloist.
A French harpist born in Saint Petersburg, Ionella Marinutsa pursues a career as soloist
and pedagogue between France and the international stage.
In 2020, she recorded for Naxos an album devoted to the harp works of Boris
Tishchenko, including his Harp Concerto, a work of exceptional technical complexity. The
international press responded with unanimous praise: ” Marinutsa is excellent throughout “
(DSCH Journal, UK), ” Marinutsa displays her considerable gifts throughout the concerto “
(Musical Opinion, UK).
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On stage, she performs as soloist in France and abroad, the International Music Festival of Alba in Italy, the Festival Debussy, the Rencontres Internationales de la Harpe in Île-de-France, Violoncelles en Folies, Buëch-Durance, with orchestras including the Orchestre de Sorbonne Université, the Orchestre des Alpes du Sud OPUS and Les Folies Concertantes.
In 2018, she gave the world premiere of Anthony Girard’s Double Concerto for violin and harp with the Orchestra of the CRR de Paris. That same year, she took part in an acoustic research project at IRCAM Paris. She has also worked as an orchestral musician with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Orchestra of the Opéra national de Paris. Her competition record reflects an early and sustained international presence.At seventeen, she won First Prize at the Concours Symphonie in Russia, performing for the first time with orchestra under the baton of Edouard Serov, a disciple of Evgeny Mravinsky. She subsequently won First Prize at the 89th Concours International Léopold Bellan in Paris, the Special Jury Prize at the 2nd International Harp Competition in Hungary, and was named one of four semi-finalists at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 2016. In 2025, she was selected among the 44 candidates retained for the USA International Harp Competition, from a field of over one hundred applicants worldwide.
Ionella Marinuța began studying the harp in Saint Petersburg at the Okhtinskiy Centre for Artistic Education in the class of Antonina Kurkanova, before continuing her training at the M. P. Mussorgsky College of Music in the class of Irina Donskaya-Tishchenko. Recognised during a masterclass, she was invited to further develop her artistry in France under Isabelle Perrin, Ghislaine Petit-Volta and Isabelle Moretti, leading figures of the French harp school.
She graduated from the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris, where she obtained Master’s degrees in performance and pedagogy. She also holds the French State Diploma of Professor of Harp (Certificat d’Aptitude) and a degree in musicology from Sorbonne University. Her artistic activity is supported by the Kriegelstein Funds, the Meyer Foundation, the Safran Foundation, the Société Générale Musical Sponsorship and the Porosus Endowment Fund.
For Ionella Marinutsa, teaching is inseparable from the art of performance. In 2026, she was appointed Professor of Harp at the Académie Rainier III in Monaco, where she brings to her students the same artistic standards that define her work as a soloist.