Bulgarian pianist Kaliya Kalcheva has the ability to see familiar works from a new light, thanks to her “imagination, intelligence, sensitivity, and sheer talent”, as praised by pianist Matti Raekallio. Since winning her first competition at age 6, Kaliya holds a Grand Prix and 15 first prizes from international competitions. In 2014 she was the youngest recipient of an honorary diploma from the Ministry of Culture in Bulgaria for high artistic achievements in the preceding year.
Kaliya gave both her solo recital debut and orchestral soloist performance at the age of 9, which led to collaborations with established European conductors and numerous orchestras, including the National Orchestra of Belgium, Sofia Philharmonic, the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony. Kaliya has performed in major venues, such as the Brussels Centre of Fine Arts and Lincoln Center where she made her NYC concerto debut in 2019 with the Juilliard Orchestra under maestro Karina Canellakis, as the concerto competition winner.
Always passionate about expanding her knowledge, Kaliya has been heard in masterclasses by many esteemed pianists, including Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Robert McDonald, Menahem Pressler, and Arie Vardi. She has been invited to attend the Perlman Music Program, Summer Academy Orpheus in Vienna, and Musica Mundi in Brussels where she was a Young Faculty member in 2017 and 2018.
A graduate of the National Music School Lyubomir Pipkov in Sofia in the class of Milena Mollova, Kaliya completed her Bachelor of Music at Manhattan School of Music with Daniel Epstein, where she was awarded the Harold Bauer Commencement Award for “outstanding accomplishment, cooperation and promise.” She is currently finishing her Master of Music at The Juilliard School under the guidance of Stephen Hough and Matti Raekallio, where she holds a Gluck Community Service Fellowship. Kaliya is honored to be a 2020-2021 Thanks To Scandinavia Scholar.