Ralitsa Georgiva-Smith, piano
Ralitsa Georgieva-Smith, a native of Bulgaria, started piano lessons at the age of 5. She had several appearances as a soloist with the Sliven Symphony Orchestra and the Bourgas Philharmonic. She then entered the State Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1995, and earned her Bachelors and Master of Music degree. Ralitsa also earned a second Masters of Music at the University of South Florida, studying with Svetozar Ivanov.
Between 1995-2000 she won several competitions in Europe. She appeared as soloist and chamber musician in several festivals throughout Europe. She has also performed on Classical Music television programs and is frequently heard on radio recordings. Her performances have brought her to the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, and the United States.
Ralitsa is a recent graduate from the Collaborative Piano department at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where she studied with Anita Pontremoli.. She also received coachings from David and Linda Cerone, Linda Jones,Elizabeth DeMio, Virginia Weckstrom, , and members of the Cleveland Orchestra. She has participated in master classes with Martin Katz, Warren Jones, Logan Skellton, Barry Snyder, John Elliot, Paul Komen, and Oleg Koshelev. In 2006, she was the recepient of Rose Lobe’s award for high achievements in accompanying
At present Ralitsa is a staff pianist at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music Some of her more recent activities include accompanying the CIM opera scenes concert and working with Steven Witser (former assist. Principal trombone-Cleveland Orchestra), for his solo recital preparation.
Click here to visit Ralitsa's piano lesson website.