Rania Penelope Dereka
15 years, cello
Young cellist Rania Penelope Dereka was born in December 2005 in Frankfurt, Germany. After hearing the vibrant sound of the cello on the radio and immediately falling in love with it, Rania received her first cello lessons at the age of eight. Currently, she is studying with Erik Richter at the Emanuel Feuermann Conservatory at Kronberg Academy. She gave her concert debut at Aura-Media-Kulturforum Frankfurt at the age of eleven. As a laureate with distinction of the Hamburger Instrumentalwettbewerb, Rania performed at the “Konzert der Kinder” at Laeiszhalle Hamburg, organised by famous quartet “Salut Salon”. She was also invited to perform at the “Spivakov meets Friends” festival 2019 at Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow as well as the online editions in 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, she performed at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Schlosstheater Rheinsberg, Schloss Mosigkau, Musikmesse Frankfurt, Goethe-Haus Frankfurt, Brahms-Society Wiesbaden, and as a special guest at the concert series “Prélude” at Museum Pankow in Berlin. Rania received further artistic inspiration in masterclasses with Leonid Gorokhov, Ulrich Voss, Stefan Forck as well as from Katharina Deserno and Daniel Geiß. She participated in the International Summer Academy for Young Artists Marktoberdorf, Pelion Festival Greece, and Euro Music Academy Halle, as well as in chamber music courses with, among others, Michael Erxleben, Karine Gilanyan, and Damien Ventula at Musikakademie Rheinsberg. Rania is a laureate of many competitions: she was awarded the first price of her age group at the international XXIXe Concours Flame in Paris and received highest distinctions at several German national competitions, such as Carl-Schroeder- Wettbewerb, MusikTalente, and the Hamburger Instrumentalwettbewerb, as well as at Mendelssohn-Wettbewerb Rhein-Main. Rania’s second instrument is the piano, which she is studying with pianist and composer Arevik Beglaryan. Currently, she is a member of several chamber music ensembles and orchestras at her high school and has founded the young baroque ensemble “Con anima”. She is also a candidate of the State Youth Orchestra (LJSO). In 2018, renowned German composer Barbara Heller dedicated the piece “Gesten – Für Violoncello solo” to her. She was a member of the Frankfurt Cathedral Choir until 2018. Rania is the recipient of a scholarship of International Academy for Talented Young Musicians Berlin since 2017. For her studies at the Pre-College at Cologne University of Music and Dance from 2018-2020, she furthermore received a scholarship from Rotary Club Köln-Kapitol.Back to festival overview
Five questions for the artists
What does the instrument have that you play that the others don't? What do you especially love about him? What annoys you about him? The sound of the cello has a certain warmth that I have never felt so intensely on any other instrument. It sounds singing and is very similar to the human voice. There are many things I like about the cello and playing the cello, such as: For example, that I don't need to go through words to express what I feel or what I want to convey, but rather make music that everyone just needs to listen to in order to understand - whether they speak the same language as me or not does not matter. It is also very important to me how I feel when I play the cello. It gives me a kind of freedom to convey the unspoken and to tell stories without saying a word. When I play, I forget everything for a brief moment, except the cello and myself, and sometimes only the music exists. You would never want to do without the music of which composer in your life? To Robert Schumann. From his music you can easily hear how many ulterior motives and how much depth there is in each of his works. His music and style speaks to me very much and is inspiring. What are you reluctant to do? Learn vocabulary. Do you do sports? Which? I haven't played a team sport since the pandemic. But I do regular workouts and go jogging every now and then. What makes you angry? Actually, I don't really get angry that much, except maybe sometimes the news. Any form of racism or injustice makes me sad.Rania Penelope Dereka
15 years, cello
Young cellist Rania Penelope Dereka was born in December 2005 in Frankfurt, Germany. After hearing the vibrant sound of the cello on the radio and immediately falling in love with it, Rania received her first cello lessons at the age of eight. Currently, she is studying with Erik Richter at the Emanuel Feuermann Conservatory at Kronberg Academy. She gave her concert debut at Aura-Media-Kulturforum Frankfurt at the age of eleven. As a laureate with distinction of the Hamburger Instrumentalwettbewerb, Rania performed at the “Konzert der Kinder” at Laeiszhalle Hamburg, organised by famous quartet “Salut Salon”. She was also invited to perform at the “Spivakov meets Friends” festival 2019 at Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow as well as the online editions in 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, she performed at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Schlosstheater Rheinsberg, Schloss Mosigkau, Musikmesse Frankfurt, Goethe-Haus Frankfurt, Brahms-Society Wiesbaden, and as a special guest at the concert series “Prélude” at Museum Pankow in Berlin. Rania received further artistic inspiration in masterclasses with Leonid Gorokhov, Ulrich Voss, Stefan Forck as well as from Katharina Deserno and Daniel Geiß. She participated in the International Summer Academy for Young Artists Marktoberdorf, Pelion Festival Greece, and Euro Music Academy Halle, as well as in chamber music courses with, among others, Michael Erxleben, Karine Gilanyan, and Damien Ventula at Musikakademie Rheinsberg. Rania is a laureate of many competitions: she was awarded the first price of her age group at the international XXIXe Concours Flame in Paris and received highest distinctions at several German national competitions, such as Carl- Schroeder-Wettbewerb, MusikTalente, and the Hamburger Instrumentalwettbewerb, as well as at Mendelssohn- Wettbewerb Rhein-Main. Rania’s second instrument is the piano, which she is studying with pianist and composer Arevik Beglaryan. Currently, she is a member of several chamber music ensembles and orchestras at her high school and has founded the young baroque ensemble “Con anima”. She is also a candidate of the State Youth Orchestra (LJSO). In 2018, renowned German composer Barbara Heller dedicated the piece “Gesten – Für Violoncello solo” to her. She was a member of the Frankfurt Cathedral Choir until 2018. Rania is the recipient of a scholarship of International Academy for Talented Young Musicians Berlin since 2017. For her studies at the Pre-College at Cologne University of Music and Dance from 2018-2020, she furthermore received a scholarship from Rotary Club Köln-KapitolFive questions for the artists
What does the instrument have that you play that the others don't? What do you especially love about him? What annoys you about him? The sound of the cello has a certain warmth that I have never felt so intensely on any other instrument. It sounds singing and is very similar to the human voice. There are many things I like about the cello and playing the cello, such as: For example, that I don't need to go through words to express what I feel or what I want to convey, but rather make music that everyone just needs to listen to in order to understand - whether they speak the same language as me or not does not matter. It is also very important to me how I feel when I play the cello. It gives me a kind of freedom to convey the unspoken and to tell stories without saying a word. When I play, I forget everything for a brief moment, except the cello and myself, and sometimes only the music exists. You would never want to do without the music of which composer in your life? To Robert Schumann. From his music you can easily hear how many ulterior motives and how much depth there is in each of his works. His music and style speaks to me very much and is inspiring. What are you reluctant to do? Learn vocabulary. Do you do sports? Which? I haven't played a team sport since the pandemic. But I do regular workouts and go jogging every now and then. What makes you angry? Actually, I don't really get angry that much, except maybe sometimes the news. Any form of racism or injustice makes me sad.Back to festival overview
