Diliana Momtchilova began her musical education at the age of five at the Ljubomir Pipkov National Music School in her native city of Sofia, Bulgaria. She made her debut at nine as a soloist with the Sofia Chamber Orchestra with conductor Rositza Batalova. She later graduated with honors from the State Academy of Music in Sofia, where she studied with Zdravko Jordanov and Anatoli Krastev. Ms. Momtchilova continued her musical education as a full scholarship student at the Juilliard School in New York, where she earned her Masters and Doctoral degrees. Her principal teachers at Juilliard were Zara Nelsova and Harvey Shapiro. She has participated in master classes led by Janos Starker, Julius Berger, Angelica May, and the Principal cellists of the New York Philharmonic, Carter Brey and Lorne Monroe.
Ms. Momtchilova currently resides in New York, where she has been a member of Alaria, a piano-trio-based chamber ensemble, for ten years. With Alaria she performs in the United States and Europe, participates in the ensemble’s concert series at Carnegie Weill Hall, takes part as a faculty member at the Ameropa International Festival, and is an Assistant Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Extension Division of the Mannes College of Music in New York. Her students have won numerous competitions and gained admission to the nation's most renowned music schools. In 2008 she was appointed principal cellist of the Washington Sinfonietta (now the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra).
Diliana Momtchilova has won many awards and prizes from national and international competitions including, but not limited to, First Prize at the Washington International Competition, Second Prize at the Haddonfield Symphony String Competition, the Juilliard School Cello Concerto Competition, Second Prize at the European Competition for Youth Music Prize, the Mercure Prize from the Summer International Academy Vienna-Prague-Budapest, First Prize and the Grand Prix at the Bohuslav Heran International Cello Competition in the Czech Republic, and First Prize at the Svetoslav Obretenov National Competition in Bulgaria.
The venues at which she has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Europe, the United States, and Canada include: Carnegie Weill Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Bargemusic, Trinity Church, the Harvard Club in New York, the Festival of the Arts in Virginia, the Manchester Music Festival in Vermont, the Barshinger Inaugural Series presented by Franklin & Marshal College in association with WITF – FM 89.5, and Focus Festival for Contemporary music, among others. Her festival appearances include the Emilia Romagna Festival, Domenico Cimarosa, and Musica da Camera antica e classica in Italy, the Ljubljana Music Festival in Slovenia, and the Ameropa Festival in the Czech Republic. In Bulgaria she has taken part in the Sofia Music Weeks International Festival, the Varna Summer International Festival, Salon of the Arts, and the Apolonia Music Festival.
As a soloist, Ms. Momtchilova has performed with the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic, Varna Philharmonic, Bourgas Philharmonic, Sofia Soloist Chamber Orchestra, New Symphony Orchestra, Classic FM Orchestra, Georgia State University Symphony Orchestra, Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, and Washington Sinfonietta among others. After winning the Haydn D Major Cello Concerto Competition at the Juilliard School, she appeared as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra under Otto Werner Mueller. In the Spring of 2010, she appearred as a soloist with the the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, and the Sofia Philharmonic. Later this year, she will appear with the Mexico City Symphony.
Diliana Momtchilova is an active performer of contemporary music. She has premiered works by Krzysztof Penderecki, Michael White, Richard Brooks, Andy Tierstein, Debra Kaye, Terrie Winter-Owens, Lazar Nikolov, Alexandar Tekeliev, Filip Pavlov, Anton Garcia Abril, Consuelo Diez, and Nikolai Badinski. She has performed in New York as a performer member of the New York Composers Circle.
Ms. Momtchilova has made multiple recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio and Television, the Balkanton Recording Company, the Deutsche Welle (Germany), and Naxos. With Alaria, she has recorded two CDs with works by Henry Cowell, Robert Schumann, Clementi–Casella, Shostakovich, and Alexander Tcherepnin. Her most recent release, Romantic Music for Cello and Piano, out in the fall of 2009, was met with broad critical acclaim.
Ms. Momtchilova currently resides in New York, where she has been a member of Alaria, a piano-trio-based chamber ensemble, for ten years. With Alaria she performs in the United States and Europe, participates in the ensemble’s concert series at Carnegie Weill Hall, takes part as a faculty member at the Ameropa International Festival, and is an Assistant Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Extension Division of the Mannes College of Music in New York. Her students have won numerous competitions and gained admission to the nation's most renowned music schools. In 2008 she was appointed principal cellist of the Washington Sinfonietta (now the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra).
Diliana Momtchilova has won many awards and prizes from national and international competitions including, but not limited to, First Prize at the Washington International Competition, Second Prize at the Haddonfield Symphony String Competition, the Juilliard School Cello Concerto Competition, Second Prize at the European Competition for Youth Music Prize, the Mercure Prize from the Summer International Academy Vienna-Prague-Budapest, First Prize and the Grand Prix at the Bohuslav Heran International Cello Competition in the Czech Republic, and First Prize at the Svetoslav Obretenov National Competition in Bulgaria.
The venues at which she has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in Europe, the United States, and Canada include: Carnegie Weill Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Bargemusic, Trinity Church, the Harvard Club in New York, the Festival of the Arts in Virginia, the Manchester Music Festival in Vermont, the Barshinger Inaugural Series presented by Franklin & Marshal College in association with WITF – FM 89.5, and Focus Festival for Contemporary music, among others. Her festival appearances include the Emilia Romagna Festival, Domenico Cimarosa, and Musica da Camera antica e classica in Italy, the Ljubljana Music Festival in Slovenia, and the Ameropa Festival in the Czech Republic. In Bulgaria she has taken part in the Sofia Music Weeks International Festival, the Varna Summer International Festival, Salon of the Arts, and the Apolonia Music Festival.
As a soloist, Ms. Momtchilova has performed with the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic, Varna Philharmonic, Bourgas Philharmonic, Sofia Soloist Chamber Orchestra, New Symphony Orchestra, Classic FM Orchestra, Georgia State University Symphony Orchestra, Lehigh Valley Chamber Orchestra, Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, and Washington Sinfonietta among others. After winning the Haydn D Major Cello Concerto Competition at the Juilliard School, she appeared as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra under Otto Werner Mueller. In the Spring of 2010, she appearred as a soloist with the the Adelphi Chamber Orchestra, and the Sofia Philharmonic. Later this year, she will appear with the Mexico City Symphony.
Diliana Momtchilova is an active performer of contemporary music. She has premiered works by Krzysztof Penderecki, Michael White, Richard Brooks, Andy Tierstein, Debra Kaye, Terrie Winter-Owens, Lazar Nikolov, Alexandar Tekeliev, Filip Pavlov, Anton Garcia Abril, Consuelo Diez, and Nikolai Badinski. She has performed in New York as a performer member of the New York Composers Circle.
Ms. Momtchilova has made multiple recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio and Television, the Balkanton Recording Company, the Deutsche Welle (Germany), and Naxos. With Alaria, she has recorded two CDs with works by Henry Cowell, Robert Schumann, Clementi–Casella, Shostakovich, and Alexander Tcherepnin. Her most recent release, Romantic Music for Cello and Piano, out in the fall of 2009, was met with broad critical acclaim.
