Ilinka Manova is an award-winning Macedonian American pianist celebrated for her profound artistry and dedication to music. She began her formative musical journey under Professor Valentina Nolcheva in Skopje before pursuing advanced studies with Dr. Arbo Valdma in Cologne, Germany, and Dr. Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Awarded a full scholarship, she earned her master’s degree and Artist Diploma studying with Professor Stephanie Brown at SUNY Purchase. Ilinka furthered her education by obtaining a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Connecticut, where she studied with Dr. Angelina Gadeliya.

Ilinka's musical talent has earned her numerous accolades, including first prize at the 29th Artists International Competition in New York, which led to her solo recital debut at Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall in 2001. Among her honors are the prestigious DAAD German Scholarship, Emily and Eugene Grant, Clifford-Levy Creativity Grant, the Citta di Senigallia award in Italy, and the Yugoslav National Competition Award for Musicians in Sarajevo.

Her performances have graced world-renowned venues such as the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in Taiwan, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, the United Nations, Steinway Hall, Merkin Hall, Paul Hall, Von der Mehden Recital Hall, Opera America, Donnell New York Public Library, Palazzo Altieri, and Bohemian National Hall. Ilinka has also performed extensively across Europe—in cities like Paris, Rome, Bonn, Cologne, Geneva, Senigallia, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Skopje, and Ohrid—as well as in major cities throughout the United States. Her artistry has been featured in The New York Times, Greenwich Time, The Journal News, and prominent Macedonian publications. Her repertoire spans classical masterpieces to contemporary works, focusing on new compositions from her native Macedonia.

In addition to her distinguished performing career, Ilinka is a passionate advocate for music education and nonviolence through the arts. As Managing Director of ArtsAhimsa, a nonprofit organization promoting peace through creativity, she has played a key role in fostering meaningful connections through music. A sought-after teacher, she serves on the piano faculties of The New School – Mannes Prep Division and The Diller-Quaile School of Music in New York City, where her students have won accolades at national competitions and performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall.

From 2012 to 2022, Ilinka co-managed Rondo Young Artist, an international initiative aimed at nurturing emerging talent. As Executive Director and Co-Founder, she organized debut concerts for young musicians at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and led the annual Rondo Summer Academy in Geneva-Blonay, Switzerland.

Ilinka resides in New York City with her husband and their two teenage daughters 

Vesna Kršić Sekulić (Belgrade, 1950),  music theoretician,  pedagogue, pianist and violist,  graduated from the Piano section and Music theory at  the  Belgrade Faculty of Music, and has got her MA in Music pedagogue. She was a professor of the piano and the chamber music in the Music school Josip Slavenski  in Belgrade. Since 1976. she has has been teaching solfeggio and  methods as a full time professor at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and also at the Faculty of Philologhy and Art in Kragujevac. In her class, up to now, 25 students graduated there and now 5 already outstanding young music pedagogues got their M.A. Beside her activity playing in piano duo, Vesna Kršić is also performing as piano accompanist. For several years she was the member – as a violist - of Academic Chamber Orchestra Dušan Skovran.

She is giving more than 40 lectures for the teachers of solfeggio, piano and chamber music. She also she wrote several books in this field.

Vesna  Kršić  regularly takes part in a number of simposiums. A lot of her articals abut music were published in magazines. As a jury member and also as the President of the Assotiation of Music pedagogues of Serbia, she initiated  the foundation of the Spring festival of Chamber Music in Belgrade, the Tournament of Music Skills and the Parada in Solfeggio. Vesna Kršić was the representative of  Serbia in EMCY ( European Music Competitions of Youth).

She performed in all the main cities of former Yugoslavia, France, Hungary, Israel, USA, Switzerland, and Belgium in recitals and in the radio and television programs. The piano duo Vesna Kršić - Snežana Nikolajević received the award of the Association of Music Artists of Serbia for the best concert held in 2010. Recordings of thereduo interpretations were published on several LP records and CDs. 

Elena Atanasovska–Ivanovska is one of the most successful and acclaimed Macedonian artists, distinguished by her refined sound, elegant expression, and great productivity, evident through her numerous performances in Macedonia and abroad.

Elena has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, the United States, Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo, giving many concerts within renowned Macedonian festivals such as Ohrid Summer Festival, Skopje Summer Festival, Autumn Music Festivities, Days of Macedonian Music, Bitola Summer, Gevgelija Autumn, as well as international festivals including Sarajevo Winter (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Festival de Música do Palácio da Bolsa (Portugal), Festival de Música de Sant Pere de Rodes (Spain), Guarnerius – Centre of Fine Arts Jovan Kolundzija (Serbia), Carniarmonie, and others.

As a chamber musician, Elena regularly performs with Macedonian artists, but her collaborations with renowned international musicians are also remarkable, including clarinetists Sergey Petrov (principal clarinetist of the Bolshoi Theatre), Jan Jakub Bokun (professor at the Academy of Music in Wrocław, Poland), Pierre Genisson (France), flutist Dejan Gavrić (Germany/Serbia), violinist Hans-Peter Hoffmann (Germany), pianist Bertrand Giraud (France), clarinetist Gábor Varga (Hungary), soprano Terry Rhodes (USA), clarinetist Barbara Borowicz (Poland), and baritone Honzhu Chen (China), among others.

She has also appeared as a soloist with the Macedonian Philharmonic and the Chamber Orchestra of the Jeunesses Musicales of Macedonia. Elena is active in recording projects — in addition to the CDs produced in collaboration with pianist Marija Gjosevska and clarinetist Risto Gjorevski in Macedonia, she continuously records as a collaborator with the F.A.M.E.S. film music orchestra, and she has released a CD featuring music from the Swedish royal Bernadotte dynasty for the Polish label DUX.

For the fourth consecutive year, she has been part of the faculty team of the Opus 74 Summer Music Academy in Flén, France. She has also served as a jury member at international competitions, including the D. Balakirev Music School in Moscow, Russia, and the Opus Artis Paris International Piano Competition in France.

She began studying piano in the class of Prof. Lepa Mrmevska and graduated cum laude from the Faculty of Music in Skopje in the class of the eminent pianist and pedagogue Boris Romanov, where she also completed her postgraduate and doctoral studies.

With her doctoral dissertation titled “The Use of the Biofeedback Method as a Means of Improving Musical Performance among Piano Students in the Republic of Macedonia,” under the mentorship of Prof. Dr. Ganka Cvetanova, she earned the degree of Doctor of Science.

Elena Atanasovska–Ivanovska is currently an Associate Professor.

Katerina Kjetkovikj Fidanovska was born in Skopje, where she completed her primary and secondary music education.(Rita Popovikj and Todor Svetiev) She began her studies at the Music Academy in Zagreb in the class of the famous professor and pianist Vladimir Krpan and after two years continued them at the FMU Skopje in the class of prof. Todor Svetiev. She completed her postgraduate studies in the same class. During her schooling, she participated in several national and state competitions, winning first and third prizes. She attended seminars with eminent pianist-pedagogues, including Arbo Valdma, Jokut Mihajlovic, Anton Dikov and others. She has performed several times as a piano accompanist, and as a soloist she performed twice with the Symphony Orchestra of the Music Academy in Zagreb.

Since 1993, she has been working as a professor at DMBUC "Ilija Nikolovski - Luj" Skopje. She participated in several international school projects and as a member in the last project of the piano department in ERAZMUS+ in Varazdin/Croatia. Was in the organization of international competitions held in Skopje, as well as being a member of the jury of state competitions several times.

In her pedagogical work with students, she has won many first and special prizes at international and national competitions. With great success, they participate in various events and festivals and perform independent recitals and a performance with the Macedonian Philharmonic. They regularly attend seminars and summer master classes, and she accompanied them to the Summer School Master class at Istituto musicale "Angelo Masini" (July 2017) led by prof. Denis Zardi and the Summer Piano School in Grožnjan – Croatia (August 2019, 2023 and 2024) led by prof. Katarina Krpan from the Music Academy from Zagreb, Maestro Simon Trpceski, prof. Konstantin Krasnitsky, Danijel Oto, Aleksandar Serdar and Ioannis Potamousis

Katerina also appears as a reviewer of the latest teaching aid for piano "PIANISTICA"

She is the winner of the annual award "Phoenix" (2020) of the Municipality of Center for Achievements in Education, as well as an award for many years of successful teaching work from the association of music and ballet teachers of North Macedonia.

Svetlana Dimitrievska is a head of the piano department, pianist and a piano & chamber music pedagogue at State Music and Ballet Educational Centre “Ilija Nikolovski – Luj”, Skopje in North Macedonia. She starts her piano lessons with the teacher Snezana Anastasova Cadikovska and Katerina Gelebeseva Kostadinovska. After the secondary school, she continues her music studies in the piano class of MA Todor Svetiev at the Faculty of Music Arts “St. Kiril and Metodij” in Skopje. In the same class later, she finishes her Postgraduate studies in piano performance

Svetlana Dimitrievska is a well-recognized piano teacher. Her students has received international and national awards in Serbia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Macedonia. Many of them are the highest first prizes and special awards.

During her pedagogical work, she has received many recognitions in France, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Macedonia and was awarded with certificates for excellent pedagogical results in music competitions, diplomas for progress and development in the music field, contribution to the discovery and development of young talents, certificates for attending seminars by eminent pianists, participation in the creation of the piano teaching program of the Ministry of Education in Macedonia, participation in professional lectures organized by EPTA, participation in the training for new interactive teaching methodologies and e-Learning.

Svetlana Dimitrievska is a member of the organization team and the jury of the State competitions in North Macedonia. She is a full member of EPTA Macedonia.

She is a promotor of the event Piano Day Skopje, a well-known concert event that promotes young piano talents and new contemporary composers.

Beside the educational work and organization, she also performs as a pianist with Macedonian instrumentalists. Her students regularly perform in many concerts, festivals, competitions.

Svetlana is a member of the trio “Animato”, which is member of the Union of Macedonian Musical Artists.