Short Biography

She was born in 1950 in Považská Bystrica, Slovakia.
After she graduated Conservatoire in Žilina (1971) she continued her studies of playing the accordion at the Music University of Franz Liszt in Weimar, Germany. She finished her doctoral studies at the Martin Luther University in Halle/Salle (1987-1992) in the scientific field Theory and history of music. In 2000 she became the associate professor in 2000 at Musical-Dancing faculty of University of musical arts in Bratislava. In 2011 she was inaugurated the professor at the Ostrava university in the scientific field Music Theory and Pedagogy.

Associate prof. Irena Medňanská, Ph.D. was active at all the types of artistic schools: Musical schools. She was also the head of Musical school Musikschule Bleicherode in Thuringia, Germany. Then she worked at the Conservatoire in Žilina, various educational faculties, departments of music in Nitra, Žilina and finally in Prešov. In Prešov she was the department head in 1993-2009, and subdean in 1994 – 1997. In 1988-1991 she was the head of State Philharmonic in Košice.

Her scientific-research work and publications are aimed at musical pedagogy as scientific field, comparative musical pedagogy, musical aesthetics, musical sociology and teaching how to play the accordion.  

She successfully finished home projects VEGA and KEGA, Musical fund, Visegrad fund of progress and also projects of EU: Sokrates/Grundtvig 1.1,  Grundtvig 2, Leonardo da Vinci,  Comenius C3. Among the works she published are: 2 scientific monographs and specialist studies in foreign and home countries, reviess of monographs, papers, critiques of festivals and concerts, specialist translations from German language, expert reports, popular-scientific papers. She is the supervisor of doctoral students in study program 1.1.10 Didactics of Music /Technology of Teaching Music in Slovak Republic and in study program Music Theory and Pedagogy in Czech Republic.

She participated in study visits mainly in German speaking countries and she realized more than 120 lectures at congresses of EAS, at universities and musical schools in 16 European countries.

Associate prof. Irena Medňanská was the representative of Middle and Eastern European countries in the presidium of European association for music education in 1992 – 2009. She is the national co-ordinator of EAS for Slovak Republic, the member of international editorial council of the journal “Music education” (2008).