Dr. Zarina Melik-Stepanova is Assistant Professor of Piano at Oklahoma State University. She received her Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Music and the coveted Performers Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Natalya Antonova. Before beginning her post at Oklahoma State, she held a position of the Assistant Professor of Piano at Millikin University in Decatur, IL.
A native of the former Soviet Union, Dr. Zarina Melik-Stepanova began her music studies at the age of four at the Azerbaijan National Conservatory in Baku, USSR. She continued her musical education with Nellie Egiazarova in a special music school for gifted children. In 1990, Dr. Melik-Stepanova's family was forced to flee Baku due to religious persecution and moved to Moscow. She continued her musical studies in the Moscow music school system.
In 1992, Dr. Melik-Stepanova moved to the United States and began performing throughout the Midwest. Appearances included Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, Rochester, MN and Sioux Falls. She has won first prize at the South Dakota Symphony Piano Competition, the South Dakota MTNA Piano Competition, the Schubert Club Piano Competition and St. Paul, MN, the J. Earl Lee International Piano Competition, and was a top prizewinner at the Crane Festival of New Music at SUNY Potsdam, NY. She has also been a guest performer at the Eastman School of Music Young Artists International Piano Competition and Festival. In 2002, Dr. Melik-Stepanova participated and performed concerts at the Moulin d'Ande Music Festival in Ande, France, and was featured as a performer in a Live at Hochstein radio show in Rochester, NY.
In August of 2003, Dr. Melik-Stepanova won first prize at the National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Piano Competition, which rewarded her with two years of professional management for the federation. During the next two years, she was featured as a guest artist at the National Federation of Music Clubs Conventions in Ohio, Oklahoma, Iowa, Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and others.
Dr. Melik-Stepanova is an active soloist and collaborator. She is a member of the piano duo, Solaris, founded in 2004 with her friend and Eastman graduate, Alexandra Nguyen. Besides receiving degrees in piano performance, Dr. Melik-Stepanova pursued a minor in Vocal Repertoire and Coaching, and specializes in Russian Diction and Repertoire.
Performances by Dr. Zarina Melik-Stepanova
