Having already established themselves as solo artists, while garnering numerous prizes and awards along the way, the Shelest Piano Duo brings to the performance stage inventive programs of not only solo repertoire, but also four hand music. The husband and wife team of Anna and Dmitri Shelest are rapidly gaining a reputation for offering performances that help to create a greater understanding of the piano in particular, and the performing arts in general. First Prize winners of Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition, Shelest Piano Duo made their Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 and were immediately re-engaged for the special performance at the ABC Gala at the same venue in April 2012.

In addition to a success that has family ties, critics point to the fact that both artists are also part of the distinguished piano tradition resulting from their both growing up in Ukraine, and studying at the famous Kharkiv Special Music School, before coming to the United States to complete their education.

The career of Anna Shelest includes a performance at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris when she was only eleven years old, and her orchestral debut with Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra the following year in a performance of Rachmaninoff First Piano Concerto. Hailed as the “female reincarnation of Liszt” and “a piano lioness,” she has performed throughout the world as both a soloist and chamber musician, including appearances with the Cincinnati, Montreal, and Netherlands Symphony Orchestras, as well as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Last year marked her debuts at Alice Tully Hall and Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, just prior to receiving her Master’s degree at The Juilliard School. Her discography includes recordings of works by Rachmaninoff, a CD with Cristian Ganicenco, principal trombonist of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and a new release Pictures at an Exhibition. Her discography includes recordings of works by Rachmaninoff, a CD with Cristian Ganicenco, principal trombonist of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and the newest release Pictures at an Exhibition, featuring the music of Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky and Glinka.

Dmitri Shelest started studying piano at the age of six in his native Ukraine, and soon enrolled into the Special Music School for Gifted Children, succeeding at his first contest when he was 11. It was also piano that brought him across to the United States, having been offered a full scholarchip to Northern Kentucky University as a Bachelor’s degree candidate in Piano Performance.

While at NKU, Mr. Shelest won top prizes at Bartok-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Piano Competition, Eastern Music Festival Concerto Competition, World Piano Competition, and Iowa International Piano Competition, among others. After graduating in 2005, he pursued a post-baccalaureate degree in Entrepreneurship in the same school, receiving the second degree in 2008. Since then, he has been active as a soloist, chamber musician, and a teacher.