Program and Artist Biography

In September 2009, Sofya Gulyak was awarded first prize and the Princess Mary Gold Medal at the 16th Leeds International Pianoforte Competition, becoming the first woman to achieve this distinction. Ms. Gulyak's resume includes prizes at many other prestigious piano competitions, including first prize at the William Kapell International and prizes at the Maj Lind Helsinki International, Tivoli in Copenhagen, Gyeongnam International in South Korea, San Marino, Busoni in Italy, and Marguerite Long in Paris.     Ms. Gulyak is a native of Kazan, Russia, where she studied at a special music college for gifted children and then at Kazan State Conservatoire under Elfiya Burnasheva. Ms Gulyak graduated from Ecole Normale de Music de Paris Alfred Cortot with highest distinction. She continued her studies at the piano academy Incontri col Maestri in Imola, Italy, with Boris Petrushansky and at the Royal College of Music with Vanessa Latarche. Her recital and concert apperances have been numerous, with performances in Russia, Poland, France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Norway, Japan, Portugal, Switzerland, Morocco, Greece, and South Korea. In the United States she has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, the International Keyboard Festival in New York, and with the Baltimore Symphony. Ms. Gulyak is a scholar for the Rostropovich Foundation.