Leonard Simaku is a violinist whose path ranges from Durazzo to Lugano—master’s-level pedagogy, prizes, and solo appearances from symphony to festivals.
Leonard Simaku is a violinist trained from early childhood and continues with advanced studies, culminating in a Master of Arts in Pedagogy at Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana (Lugano).
He began violin studies at age eight at the Liceo di musica di Durazzo, Albania, then continued in Bucharest at the Liceo Statale di musica “Dinu Lipatti” and the Università Nazionale di Musica, graduating in Professore d’Orchestra and Soloist Performance in Violin under Cornelia Bronzetti, Remus Azoitei and Stefan Gheorghiu. He also completed a 2004 course of Alto Perfezionamento Musicale for string orchestra in Saluzzo (Cn) with Roberto Ranfaldi, Enrico Dindo and Tamas Major.
Simaku has received first prizes and recognitions at national and international competitions including M. Jora and Remember Enescu (Bucharest), I.Petrela (Tirana) and the Premio assoluto CRT (Ivrea). His performance activity includes solo appearances with the Orchestra Sinfonica della Valle D’Aosta and U.E.C.O (United Europe Chamber Orchestra) in Milan, among others.
With a repertoire spanning from the 18th century to modern works, he brings a flexible, stylistically broad violin approach to USO’s crossover projects, from orchestral work to chamber and festival stages.