Lana Em was born and raised in Arkhangelsk City, Russia where she started piano in music school at age 5. She received her Bachelor's Degree from the Music College in Arkhangelsk and her Master's from the Academy of Arts and Culture in Samara, Russia. Having moved to California she studied under Richard Rodgers at the San Francisco Conservatory and worked with such outstanding musicians as Michael Goodwin, Conductor of the Auburn Symphony, Noah Horstock (viola), Dionisio Martinez (clarinet) at the Apollo Arts, CA.
In 2010 and 2011 Lana was invited to play with the Vietnamese Orchestra in DC.
Her greatest enjoyment is in playing chamber music, she also takes great pleasure in accompanying young musicians and teaching students of all ages in her private studio. Since 2009 Lana has performed in MD, VA and DC with duo and trio ensembles.
In recent years she has enjoyed accompanying talented instrumentalists on county and state competitions and festivals. In addition, as a collaborative pianist she works with the students of Yakov Shapiro, the concertmaster of Potomac Symphony Orchestra.
Lana Em is passionate about playing chamber music. She's an excellent pianist, always on time, prepared and very professional during rehearsals. Her love for the piano is evident in her sensitive playing and solid techniques. It's an absolute pleasure playing music with her.
In addition, she is an wonderful, intuitive, flexible and patient accompanist for student musicians.
I highly recommend her as a chamber musician and as a piano accompanist.
Marion Richter
It has been my distinct pleasure to perform chamber music with Lana Em in many settings and with a variety of ensembles. Ms. Em is an outstanding musician who offers creative ideas that inevitably enhance the music. She has outstanding technique, but what I like best about her playing is her creativity. I also appreciate her professionalism in the way she comes to rehearsals prepared and in her ability to deal with a range of musical personalities.
Ms. Lana -
Thank you for everything you have done for me! You helped me get over my stage fright and become a better performer in general, and my skills have progressed so much with your help. I really appreciate it :)
I started playing the piano when I was seven years old. Since then I have had three different piano teachers, Ms.Lana being my most current one. During our lessons, she helped me immensely by focusing on my specific weaknesses rather than teaching a generic curriculum. The result was a constructive lesson in which time was never wasted. One thing I particularly liked about our lessons was that Ms. Lana gave me the freedom to choose songs I wanted to learn (as long as they matched my level of difficulty). To give me options, she would also play several different songs and allow me to choose my favorites. My experience with Ms. Lana was always fun and professional. With her as a teacher, playing the piano was never boring. I would recommend her to anyone who is interested in playing piano but also has a busy schedule.
Thank you so much, Ms. Lana, for being such a great teacher.
It has also been my pleasure to have Lana Em accompany many of my students. She is a sensitive accompanist, and her accompanying enhances the performances of the students. Her flexibility as a musician is quite valuable, especially with the less experienced musicians because she is able to compensate for their often less-than-perfect rhythm. With the more advanced students, Lana's sensitivity definitely enhances their performances.
Dear Ms. Lana -
I enjoy learning piano from you so much. Thank you for always showing me that I can do better. Because of you I have improved so much from where I originally started. I am trying hard to continue to become better and better, and you are helping me achieve that.
