Vera Danchenko-Stern

Pianist Vera Danchenko-Stern graduated with honors from Moscow's prestigious Gnessin Institute of Music in piano, solo performance, chamber music, vocal, and instrumental accompaniment. Ms. Danchenko-Stern served as the teacher of the "Russian Lyrics and Diction" class at the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. from 1992 til 2002. Since 1990, she has also been teaching the "Singing in Russian" class at the faculty of Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.

Ms. Danchenko-Stern is the Russian diction coach of the Washington National Opera, collaborating with productions including Tsar's Bride, Boris Godunov, The Queen of Spades, and The Maiden of Orleans. In 2005, Ms. Danchenko-Stern founded the Russian Chamber Art Society, which presents concert series dedicated to Russian vocal music rarely heard in America. In 2008, she was nominated for the Governor's Award for the Arts in the Commonwealth of Virginia.