Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Goryacheva.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Since very early age, I was exposed to a variety of creative forms – music, theater, pop culture, television – I was growing up surrounded with artistic atmosphere. I used to sing jazz and pop and was quite successful in it, participated in festivals and competitions, shared stage with Russian pop celebrities and media stars. Therefore my youth was quite an adventure, and I am grateful that I had a chance to try myself in different music genres, not just classical – and that made a huge impact on my personality and definitely helped to become who I am today.
I began my professional music studies at the age of seven at the Special Music School for gifted children in Kaliningrad – my beautiful hometown on Baltic Sea, right in the heart of Europe. At the age of nine, I made my orchestra debut abroad – in the concert tour in Hungary – and later appeared as a soloist with orchestras throughout Europe. Constant performing, competing, meeting famous people from classical music world – all of that was very inspiring and convinced me to entirely dedicate my life to musical career.
My journey continued in Moscow – a musical capital of Europe, city of enormous energy and inspiration, attracting musicians from all over the world. Moscow gave me that incomparable courage, feeling of constant learning and achievement. It’s impossible to describe in words the atmosphere of that city.- every musician has to go there at least once and absorb all the great heritage of Russian culture and spirit. I immediately fell in love with the city and was blown by the educational opportunities that opened to me.
I received my Bachelor’s degree from the Russian Gnessin Academy of Music, one of the world’s top music schools, and my life as a musician seemed to be accomplished enough already, however I felt that something was missing in that life – I always dreamed big.
Suddenly, I found myself in a predicament, as I wasn’t ready to move overseas that soon and leave everything behind – my family, my friends, my professional surroundings and comfort zone of everyday routine. All of that was holding me back to the reality of my life in Russia, convincing me to stay and to keep it safe. Nevertheless, that would have secured me a life of a hard-working musician having a position at a music college or school, but this is definitely not what I was dreaming about. At that time, it seemed like I was taking a huge leap of faith because I had to close one door in order to open the new door to my dream. I knew I was not going to fully realize my potential and become the best version of myself by staying in a comfort zone, so I decided to take this risk and start my professional journey from scratch. Moving to Los Angeles was the best decision I have ever made in my life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been a smooth road to get to where I am, but I am thankful for all the experience as I have learned so much through challenging times. Moving to Los Angeles was not easy as I had to adjust to a new culture, mentality and learn English from scratch while attending classes at USC. Life seemed to be full of obstacles and uncertainty, and it took me over a year to feel fully adjusted.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Being an artistic person, I have always wanted to create something special that no one has done before, something that would inspire people around, that is how I came up with the idea of my own business.
Elite Piano Institute is the specialized piano project where we are dedicated to providing the top music education in the United States. With all the legendary traditions and heritage of the Russian piano school, we are committed to offering the ultimate knowledge and techniques necessary for developing the strong musical experience. Our graduates get admitted with the highest scholarships to continue their education in the best conservatories and universities, including Juilliard School, Stanford University, USC, Rice University, University of St. Louis, UCLA, Moscow Conservatory and other top music schools in the United States and abroad.
All of our faculty are holding performance degrees from the most prestigious Russian music schools like Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, St. Petersburg Conservatory, and Gnessin Academy of music, plus at the same time all of us supplemented our studies in the United States at the University of Southern California. So we have that deep and wise multicultural understanding of what’s needed to become a professional pianist and how to build a performance career.
With our unique music theory program, we incorporate our exclusive harmony and ear training method from the very first stages of learning, so just in a few years our students will have enough knowledge to get through not only pre-college level but all the way through the Masters and Doctoral studies in the top American schools.
Elite Piano is not just a top music school in Los Angeles but also a unique educational project – me and my dedicated team are producing international piano festivals and competitions, organizing musical events, recitals, master classes, and music workshops. Having strong connections in the piano industry, we partner with the leading music festivals and competitions around the globe, creating unique performance opportunities for young pianists and helping their talent to get discovered.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elitepiano.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anya_piano_/
https://www.instagram.com/elitepianoinstitute/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Goryache/
https://www.facebook.com/elitepiano
