About Sandi

Sandi Toka Nova was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She gave her first cello recital at the age of 13, and at 15, made her solo debut with the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

A graduate of the Republican Specialized Music School in the class of Evgeny Lutsenko, she moved to Switzerland in 2000 at the invitation of legendary Maestro Tibor Varga. There, she continued her studies at the Tibor Varga Academy of Music in Sion under Professor Marcio Carneiro. During this time, she performed as a cello soloist with the Tibor Varga Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Maestros Tibor Varga and Gabor Takacs-Nagy.

After obtaining a Soloist Diploma from the Lausanne Conservatory in the class of Professor Patrick Demenga and an Orchestra Diploma from the Zurich University of the Arts in the class of Professor Susanne Basler, Sandi held positions with the Zurich Opernhaus Orchestra and the Camerata of Lausanne. She also served as the principal cellist of the Jura Symphony Orchestra and worked as an assistant to Professor Susan Ribicki Varga at the Lausanne Conservatory.

For several years, Sandi shared her expertise with a younger generation of musicians, teaching cello at the renowned Zakhar Bron International Music School in Zurich and Zug.

As a laureate of numerous national and international competitions — including First Prizes at the National Competition of Young Performers and the G. Zhubanova Competition, and awards from the Shabyt International Festival, the Nicati de-Luz Foundation Competition, and the Kiefer Hablitzel Competition — Sandi has performed in prestigious concert halls worldwide. She has also been a fellow of the Tibor Varga Foundation, the Vontobel Foundation, and the Rotary Club of Lausanne. Her chamber music career includes a successful collaboration in the now well-known SwissDuo, where she performs regularly.

Following an injury that prevented her from playing the cello, Sandi began an internship in the Conducting Department at the Lausanne Conservatory in 2008. That same year, she was awarded the Collard Prize at the Kiefer Hablitzel Competition in Switzerland as a promising young conductor.

From 2011, Sandi worked for the prestigious Verbier Festival in Switzerland as an artistic assistant to the executive director and as coordinator of the summer music camp.

She remains actively involved in contemporary and chamber music projects, performing as both a soloist and a member of various ensembles.

In 2017, as the Artistic Director of the classical music program for the Expo2017 cultural agenda in Astana, Sandi successfully curated and led a series of notable concerts. The program featured renowned artists such as cellist Mischa Maisky, the Igor Butman Moscow Jazz Orchestra, and a live movie-concert for “The Artist” with composer Ludovic Bource on piano. During the festival, Sandi Toka Nova also performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto with Thomas Gould and Julien Quentin.

Sandi Toka Nova is the founder and Artistic Director of the Benefiz-Festival Zürich in Switzerland.