A versatile musician and educator, Ekaterina Skliar isrenowned for her mastery of the mandolin and domra andher commitment to elevating these instruments on today'sclassical music landscape. Her vast repertoire includestranscriptions of classical music, original works for domraand mandolin, contemporary, and jazz music. A Winner ofthe Astral Artists’s 2019 National Auditions, Ms. Skliar alsoreceived Silver Medals from the Global Music Awards in2019 and 2020 for her domra and mandolin recordings.Her other achievements include top prizes at internationaland national competitions, including 2018 KaleidoscopeInstrumental and Vocal Competition, where she waschosen from more than 2,000 international applicants toperform with the conductorless, collective KaleidoscopeChamber Orchestra in Los Angeles.

 

An avid chamber musician and arranger, Ms. Skliarexplores new and unusual collaborations. She hasperformed chamber recitals with flute, cello, and voice, as well as guitar, piano, andharpsichord, bringing works by Russian, Ukrainian, and European composers to Americanaudiences. As a member of her duo with domrist Alexey Alexandrov, she was a nominee forRussia’s “MIRA” World Music Award and winner of the “Best Instrumental Project” in theInternational Music Festival “Ustuu-Huree”, where they duo performed their arrangements ofSiberian folk songs in jazz and fusion styles. In 2022, the Alexandrov-Skliar Duo was invited toperform at the 47th International Festival Plectro de La Rioja in Spain, where their eclecticprogram gained wide success.Beyond her performances, Ms. Skliar is a passionate educator, sharing her expertise atprestigious educational courses and events and promoting classical performance on pluckedinstruments. She has served on the faculty of 2020-2021 Classical Mandolin Society of AmericaConventions and 2022 Balalaika & Domra Association of America Convention among others. In2023, Ms. Skliar was invited to join the faculty of the innovative Course in Mandolin Excellencein the framework of the University of Rhode Island Guitar Festival led by international mandolinsoloist Jacob Reuven.Ms. Skliar began her music education in her home city of Abakan, Republic of Khakassia,Russia, with Vera Lashkina, a Merited Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation and a highlyacclaimed domra teacher. At the age of 11, she debuted with the Russian Folk InstrumentOrchestra of the Buryatia Republic (Russia). At 15, she moved to study at the NovosibirskSpecialized Music School, one of Russia’s two most prestigious schools for music protégés. Sheearned a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Music Performance from the M. Glinka NovosibirskState Conservatory under the tutelage of Professor Andrey Kugaevsky.