Irenäus was born in the autumn of 2010 in Bregenz and lives with his family in Alberschwende in the Bregenz Forest. Irenäus completed his primary school years at the Montessori Primary School Heilgereuthe/Dornbirn and then attended the Catholic Private School Marienberg/Bregenz. Since autumn 2023, he has been attending the music high school in Feldkirch. Irenäus started school a year earlier and skipped a grade in both elementary school and high school. He is therefore currently already in the 8th grade and will graduate in the spring of 2027.
At the age of five, his friendship with the accordion began. He received his first lessons from Wolfgang Oss at the music school in Wolfurt. From the age of 9, he was taught by the music school teacher and soloist Raphael Brunner.
Since the summer semester of 2023, Irenäus has been taught by Univ. Prof. Na Song as part of a gifted program at the University of Arts in Graz.
At the Austrian national competition “prima la musica,” Irenäus has participated multiple times with awards and was the national winner in his category in 2022, 2024, and 2026.
Irenäus plays at many different events and was a successful participant in the international accordion competition “Accordion Star International” as well as the “Coupe Mondiale.”
In June 2022, Irenäus performed as a soloist at two concerts as part of the event “Stars of Tomorrow – Young Talents Introduce Themselves” in Hohenems and Lustenau.
In Liechtenstein, at the Theater am Kirchplatz (TAK), Irenäus gave his first solo concert in the PODIUM concert series in April 2023 under the patronage of H.R.H. Hereditary Princess Sophie of and to Liechtenstein and won the promotion award.
In 2024, Irenäus won a first prize at the international competition Akkordeon Art Plus in Sarajevo and two first prizes in China at the Baidi Cup in Tianjin.
He has worked multiple times in masterclasses – with Prof. Grzegorz Stopa, Prof. Stefan Hussong, Inaki Alberdi – and was a participant four times in the Arosa Music Academy I – masterclass at the highest level.
Starting in the fall of 2026, Irenäus will study at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK) in the accordion class of Prof. Grzegorz Stopa.
If you are interested in working with Irenäus Schmolly, please get in touch with the EMCY Office.
