Kseniia Yershova (19) - violin / viola
Yevlaliia Yershova (17) - violin
Olena Yershova (15) - violin
Nataliia Yershova (13) - violin
Sofiia Yershova (8) - cello
The musical journey of the Yershovy sisters from Ukraine began 14 years ago when their eldest sister Kseniia started playing the violin at the age of 5. The following year, the second sister, Yevlaliia, who was only 4 years old, also started playing the violin. The two girls played a lot of duets, participated in concerts, and won many competitions. Over time, Olena and Nataliia followed their sisters' example and started playing the violin, joining their elders at music school.In 2014 Russia occupied Crimea, where the Yershov family lived, so they were forced to move to Odesa and start a new life. The girls immediately began preparing to enter one of the best music schools in Ukraine, the legendary Stolyarsky School, where such famous musicians as David Oistrakh and Nathan Milstein once studied.
For the next 8 years, the sisters successfully studied at this school (teacher Natalia Mazepa). They took part in many musical projects, concerts, competitions, and master classes with famous musicians such as Ani Schnarch (UK), Gernot Winischhofer (Austria), Zoya Nevgodovska (Germany), Maurice Sklar (USA) and Daniel Hope, who considered the Stolyarsky School a temple of music. The youngest sister Sofiia started music earlier than any of her sisters, she just turned 3 years old when she hold the cello for the first time. This is when the family ensemble began to form.
In February 2022 Russia once again disrupted the well-established life of the Yershov family, and the father's friends helped the family move to Ireland. Currently, Kseniia and Yevlaliia are pursuing their bachelor’s degree at MTU Cork School of Music. Kseniia is a violin and viola player, she studies under tutelage of Gregory Ellis and Simon Aspell in her second year BMus. Yevlaliia studies violin in first year BMus under Elizabeth Charleson. Kseniia and Yevlaliia are both graduates of the legendary Stolyarsky School. Olena and Nataliia balance their studies at an Irish secondary school with online education at Stolyarsky's school, while Sofiia is studying in the Irish primary school. The younger sisters are also part-time students at the Cork School of Music:
Olena and Nataliia study with Gregory Ellis, and Sofiia with Christopher Marwood.
Kseniia and Yevlaliia were members of National Youth Orchestra of Ireland 2022. Kseniia is a member of several orchestras in Ireland and an accomplished chamber musician, she also is the winner of Advanced Recital Competition 2024 at MTU CSM. Kseniia is the artistic director of a family quintet with her sisters and also arranges music. She led the CSM Symphony Orchestra in the Cork Choral Festival Gala Concert at Cork City Hall in May 2024.
In March 2024, Yevlaliia performed the Sibelius violin concerto at the National Concert Hall as part of a masterclass with Maxim Vengerov. She's a winner of the Senior Concerto and Recitalcompetitions at the Cork School of Music and in December 2024 she’s performing Sibelius violin concerto with CSM Symphony Orchestra.
It was in Ireland where the five sisters started performing as a family string quintet. In just two years, Yershovy Sisters performed in many different concerts across Ireland (including several solo concerts). Notably, sisters performed at the “Vanbrugh and Friends” Gala Fundraising concert for the National String Quartet Foundation in 2023 and 2024 at UCC, Aula Maxima, Cork.
Yershovy sisters also participated in Realta agus Gaolta 2024 on TG4, which will be broadcast in spring 2025.