Yuri Charyguine is a professional Russian musician who has been living in Malta since 1999. He started playing accordion at an early age and has won several first and second places in various competitions in Russia.  In 1993 he graduated from Murmansk Music College as a performer and music teacher and then went to Moscow University of Culture and Arts to further his studies in conducting and orchestration.

After working for more than 20 years as a soloist and with different orchestras and ensembles Yuri developed an excellent knowledge of accordion repertoire.  As a performer he has travelled to more than 15 countries, including Norway, Vietnam, Canada, Australia and India.

In Malta he regularly performs with classical, folk ensembles and jazz bands. He has appeared on several TV programmes and in CD recordings of local artists. Before he started teaching accordion at Johann Strauss School of Music Malta, Yuri taught for 8 years at RBSM (Russian Boarding School in Malta).

Yuri continues to develop his musical abilities: he plays several other instruments and also obtained a degree in composition from University of Malta. In 2010/2011 he attended master classes with world famous American jazz accordionist Frank Marocco in Castelfidardo, Italy.