Marina Lomazov

Praised by critics as “a diva of the piano” (The Salt Lake City Tribune), “a mesmerizing risk-taker” (The Plain Dealer, Cleveland), and “simply spectacular” (Chicago International Music Foundation) Ukrainian-American pianist Marina Lomazov has established herself as one of the most passionate and charismatic performers on the concert scene today. New York Times chief music critic Anthony Tommasini describes a recent New York performance as “dazzling” and Talk Magazine Shanghai describes her performances as “a dramatic blend of boldness and wit”. Having won silver medal at the Cleveland International Piano Competition and first prizes at the Hilton Head International Piano Competition and National Federation of Music Clubs, with additional prizes at William Kapell and Gina Bachauer International Piano Competitions, Ms. Lomazov has given major debuts in New York (Weill-Carnegie Hall) Boston (Symphony Hall), Chicago (Dame Myra Hess Concert Series), Los Angeles (Museum of Art), Shanghai (City Theater) and Kiev (Kiev International Music Festival). She has performed as soloist with the Boston Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Eastman Philharmonia, Chernigov Philharmonic (Ukraine), KUG Orchester Graz (Austria), Bollington Festival Orchestra (England), Piccolo Spoleto Festival Orchestra, Wuhan Symphony Orchestra (China), Brevard Festival Orchestra and South Carolina Philharmonic, to name a few. In recent seasons, Lomazov has performed extensively in China, South Africa, Italy, Spain, and in the United States. She is a frequent guest at music festivals in the U.S. and abroad, including Atlantic, Amalfi (Italy), Brevard, Chautauqua, Interlochen, Miami, Perugia (Italy), Texas State International, Varna (Bulgaria) and Vivace among others. She has recorded for the Albany, Centaur and Innova labels and American Record Guide praised her recent recording of piano works by Rodion Shchedrin for its “breathtaking virtuosity”. 

Before immigrating to the United States in 1990, Marina studied at the Kiev Conservatory where she became the youngest First Prize Winner at the all-Kiev Piano Competition. Ms. Lomazov holds degrees from the Juilliard School and the Eastman School of Music, the latter bestowing upon her the highly coveted Artist’s Certificate – an honor the institution had not given a pianist for nearly two decades. Her principal teachers include Leonid Lazarevich Fundiler, Varlery Sagaidachny, Barry Snyder, Jerome Lowenthal and Natalya Antonova. Also active as a chamber musician, Lomazov has performed widely as a member of the Lomazov/Rackers Piano Duo. Praised for “demon precision and complete dedication” (Audio Society), the duo garnered significant attention as Second Prize winners at the Sixth Biennial Ellis Competition for Duo Pianists (2005), the only national duo piano competition in the United States at that time. Ms. Lomazov is a Professor of Piano at the Eastman School of Music. She has served as jury member for the Cleveland International Piano Competition, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, American Piano Association, Minnesota International Piano e-Competition, Oberlin, and National Federation Biennial Young Artist Auditions.  

For over a decade, she served on and chaired the Classical Music Panel for the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts, the only organization in the United States that nominates Presidential Scholars in the Arts. Prior to her appointment at Eastman, she served on the faculty of the University of South Carolina School of Music, where she held the chair of Ira McKissick Koger Professor of Fine Arts Music. Her students are now serving as faculty members at elite music programs in the country, including University of Michigan, concertize under top classical music agencies, such as Opus 3, and serve in music industry executive leadership positions, such at Seattle Chamber Music Society. They win national and international music competitions and get accepted into premier music programs and festivals in US and abroad. Together with her husband and piano duo partner Joseph Rackers, Ms. Lomazov co-founded and served as Artistic Director of the Southeastern Piano Festival in Columbia, SC for 20 years, and they now serve as Artistic Directors of the Vivace Music Foundation. Ms. Lomazov is a Steinway Artist.