Shelest Piano Duo

Praised for their “stirring performances of rare repertory” (Fanfare Magazine), Shelest Piano Duo is a husband-and-wife team of ANNA AND DMITRI SHELEST, both born in Ukraine. Their Carnegie Hall debut in February 2018, presented in collaboration with the Alexander & Buono Foundation, coincided with their CD release of Ukrainian Rhapsody, which brought international attention to the music of their homeland. The Duo, who met as classmates in middle school, began performing together after their marriage in the United States, and their inventive programs led them to appearances in a broad array of venues, from concert stages to state functions, one of which prompted Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon to comment that they had “realized diplomacy through music.”

Dmitri Shelest started studying
piano at the age of six in Ukraine, and soon enrolled in the Kharkiv Special Music School, succeeding at his first contest when he was eleven years old. It was also piano that brought him to the United States following the award of a full scholarship to Northern Kentucky University as a Bachelor’s degree candidate in Piano Performance.

While at NKU, Mr. Shelest won top prizes in various international piano competitions and participated in music festivals. After graduating in 2005, he pursued a post- baccalaureate degree in Entrepreneurship. Since relocating with his family to New York, he has been active as a both a chamber musician and record producer.

Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch,” Anna Shelest is an international award-winning musician who has thrilled audiences throughout the world.

Having made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1, she appeared with a number of orchestras, among them Cincinnati Symphony, Montreal Symphony and Estonian National Symphony.

As a soloist, she has been heard at Alice Tully Hall and Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, and Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

Born in Ukraine, Ms. Shelest received her early music education at Kharkiv Special Music School. After receiving her Bachelor of Music degree at Northern Kentucky University, she graduated from The Juilliard School with a master’s degree.

Today, Anna and Dmitri Shelest make their home in New York City with their two sons, Ivan and Alexey.