Maira Liliestedt was a prizewinner in numerous student competitions in her native Romania before moving to the United States in 1992. Liliestedt received a Bachelor of Music in piano from Bowling Green State University and Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she studied with Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff.

Currently a professor of music at the University of Mount Union, Liliestedt previously taught at Northern Kentucky University, the College of Mount Saint Joseph, and in the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s evening program. She has been published in Clavier magazine and has served as panelist and presenter for the Group Piano and Piano Pedagogy conference. She has presented at local, district, and state conferences including the Ohio MTA and Texas MTA conventions. Her professional experience also includes masterclasses and chamber music coaching with James Tocco and Emanuel Ax.  

An active pedagogue, Liliestedt maintains her instructional agility teaching students of various ages in her Keys to Artistry Piano Studio in addition to her responsibilities at the University of Mount Union. She was a significant force behind the re-establishment of Solo con Tutti, the University of Mount Union/Alliance Symphony Orchestra concerto competition, and serves as the organizer of the event. She is an active adjudicator for festivals and competitions in the area and abroad. Liliestedt is the current Chair of the Middle East District of the Ohio Music Teachers’ Association and immediate past Co-President of the Stark County Music Teachers’ Association. She also served on the planning committee for the 2016 Ohio Music Teachers’ Association State Conference.  

Since 1996, she has been a member of the Appassionata Piano Duo, a successful musical partnership with pianist Janelle Phinney. Critic Tom Wachunas described the duo’s playing as “a warm and deft joining of palpable grace with flawless, often fiery technique,” displaying a “riveting, lucid finesse alternately muscular and delicate.” The ensemble has garnered praise for its “wonderful ensemble, balance, and unity of purpose,” and its “terrific collaboration full of grace and passion.” (Eugene and Elisabeth Pridonoff, Professors Emeriti, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music). In addition to numerous academic awards, Liliestedt has twice been the recipient of the prestigious Presser Music Award.

As a pianist, Liliestedt has been a prizewinner in solo piano and collaborative competitions at the high school, collegiate, and graduate levels, and maintains a regular schedule of solo, chamber, and concerto performances. Her interpretations of the Liszt First Piano Concerto were received enthusiastically; in conductor Eric Benjamin’s words: “hearing Maira Liliestedt play [this concerto] is like watching an Indy race driver take the car out for a spin.” Liliestedt has presented solo and violin/piano recitals at many universities in the Midwest and abroad, as well as duo and solo concerto performances. Recent engagements include solo recitals featuring Bach’s B-flat Major Partita and the Liszt B Minor Sonata, orchestral collaboration on Saint-Saëns’s Second Piano Concerto and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Appassionata Piano Duo work on Brahms’s complete Hungarian Dances. Her main 2021 project was preparing Chopin’s Concerto in E Minor for fall 2021 performances. Watch a video series documenting her learning journey to the performances! 2022-23 highlights include a chamber program in the fall, featuring duo piano and piano trio music, as well as a new solo program in the spring, headlined by the haunting music of Rachmaninoff and Enescu.