About
Russian pianist Valeria Polunina, born into an artistic family in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, began concertizing internationally before she was a teenager. Since making her orchestral debut at the age of 15 with Russia’s renowned BACH Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Polunina has gracefully transitioned into a mature artist of technical prowess and elegant artistry. Active as a vocal accompanist, Ms. Polunina collaborated with some of the world’s leading organizations, including the Mariinsky Foundation of America, The Metropolitan Opera, and The Bolshoi Theatre. Raised in Moscow, Ms. Polunina won numerous competitions, both national and international. Her performances have taken her to the most prestigious festivals and halls in the USA and Europe. She has on numerous occasions made appearances in Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. She has recently appeared in recital at Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition First Prize Winners’ Recital at Carnegie Hall hosted by Valeriy Gergiev, and on well-known TV show Good Morning America accompanying the Metropolitan Opera star Pretty Yende. Ms. Polunina currently performs as an accompanist with various artists throughout the United States and Europe.
In 2018, Ms. Polunina accepted position as a Head of Music staff at the Luzerner Theatre, Switzerland. Her contract with the opera ensemble starts in August 2018-2019 season. In 2017-2018, as an operatic pianist and répétiteur, Ms. Polunina was invited to the Metropolitan Opera as a rehearsal pianist in the production of Puccini’s La Bohème conducted by Alexander Soddy and as an assistant conductor for The Metropolitan Opera + The Juilliard School's an "Evening of Verdi" conducted by Evan Rogister. Ms. Polunina is a guest vocal coach at the Bolshoi Theatre where she works closely with Dmitri Vdovin as well as current and recent graduates of the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artist Opera Program. Her recital engagements this season include concerts with tenor Kang Wang at The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory; at Teatro del Lago's Gala Concert “Voices of the World” in Frutillar, Chile; in New York at the Park Avenue Armory and Bruno Walter Auditorium of The New York Public Library Recital Series; and Musical Tributes by Mariinsky Artists in Miami, Florida, USA. In recent years Ms. Polunina has served as class pianist in the orchestral conducting classes of Alan Gilbert and Jim Ross, and as a vocal coach and rehearsal pianist in Colorado’s Crested Butte Music Festival, Marcello Giordani Young Artist Program, and for several Juilliard Opera productions, including Die Zauberflöte conducted by David Stern.
Ms. Polunina has collaborated with many of the world’s leading solo and collaborative artists including Gerald Finley, Pretty Yende, Angel Blue, and Sofia Fomina. Invited in 2015 as a member of the distinguished Solti Peretti répétiteur residency in Venice Italy, Ms. Polunina had the privilege of playing under the baton of Richard Bonynge.
Ms. Polunina received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Gnessin’s Academy of Music in Moscow under Marina Drozdova (who is one of few students of Professor Mariya Yudina) and her Master of Music in collaborative piano at The Juilliard School studying with Margo Garrett, Diane Richardson, and Jonathan Feldman.
Ms. Polunina is a graduate Metropolitan Opera's Young Artists Development Program.