Albina Khaliapova

Artist / president of the ensemble

Pianist and educator Dr. Albina Khaliapova is a soloist, recitalist, collaborative pianist, and piano instructor. She is a prize winner in competitions in both Europe and North America, including the International Keyboard Odyssiad and Festival (Fort Collins, Colorado, 2015), International Music Competition ‘Citta Di Barletta’ (Italy, 2012), International Competition ‘Music Without Limits’ (Lithuania, 2008), and International Competition ‘Art of the 21st Century’ (Ukraine, 2001).

Born into a musical family, Albina developed an acute musical sensitivity and a natural aptitude for the piano. Influenced by her mother, who is a piano teacher, she started her first music lessons at home at the age of four. By the age of seven, she was already admitted to the Secondary Special Music School in Russia, where she made her solo debut with an orchestra. 

Before coming to the United States, Albina was actively performing on various chamber music projects, as well as was teaching at the Secondary Special Music College for musically gifted children in her hometown.

Albina received a Master of Music degree from the University of South Florida, where she held a teaching assistant position and was awarded a President’s Piano Trio fellowship and a Doctor of Music Arts degree in Piano Performance from Louisiana State University.

As a leader of Homegrown New Music Ensemble dedicated to performing music by living composers Dr. Khaliapova works closely with contemporary composers. She is currently in process of commissioning works from several composers including Dr. Mara Gibson, Alina Akhmetova, Hannah Rice, Michael Standard, and others.

Being interested in the promotion of diversity in classical music programming Albina established a concert series Women in Music in which she and her colleagues perform music by historically underrepresented female composers.