arts executive, pianist
Schubert's Ave Maria inspired a life long collaboration between Milana and her mother Svetlana. When Milana was 11 years old and Svetlana's pianist got sick, Milana stepped in to play the Schubert with her at a gala concert. The mother/daughter duo clicked. Milana at the age of 14, when Svetlana was preparing the role of Kostanze from Mozart's "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" for her tour in Romania, went along and helped her mother to prepare the entire role.
After coming to America in 1994, there were hundreds of concerts given by the Strezev Family Trio (clarinetist Anatoli, Svetlana, and Milana Strezeva), before the passing of Anatoli in 2001, Milana's father.
At present, the Lana Duo continues to perform nationally and internationally. Together they've given recitals throughout the US as well as in Italy, Denmark, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, and China. They are ardent promoters of the Russian Vocal Literature in this country.
Svetlana Strezeva, a prominent Russian-American soprano, is a Laureate of the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow as well as the Glinka Vocal International Competition in Minsk. She completed her professional studies at La Scala in Milan, Italy under the guidance of Opera Diva Giulietta Simionato.
To learn more about Svetlana, please visit www.strezeva.com