Andrea Kmecova
Andrea is a versatile pianist based in London, performing regularly as a soloist, vocal and instrumental accompanist, and chamber musician. Her professional work spans classical recitals, private events, recording sessions, cruise ship engagements, and interactive therapeutic concerts in care homes and hospitals.
She has performed at a number of leading venues and festivals, including the Royal Over-Seas League, the Houses of Parliament, St James’s Piccadilly, St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Oxford Lieder Festival, and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, among others.
Internationally, her performances have included appearances at the Kaiserhof Residenz in Munich and the Royal Palace in Madrid, where she played in a concert for Queen Sofía of Spain.
Andrea also performed with jazz musician Jamie Cullum for his BBC Radio 4 programme Jamie Cullum’s Piano Pilgrimage. Other television appearances include BBC Two, Slovak Television, National Cypriot Television, and Turkish ATV. She is featured on Patricia Hammond’s 2011 album Our Lovely Day, released by Universal and broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and 3. More recently, she appeared on Hammond’s album Songs of the Great War and has contributed to session work for SONY.
Andrea is the resident pianist at the Clarendon Hotel in Blackheath, where she performs every Sunday.
Studies
Andrea entered the National Conservatoire of Music in Košice, Slovakia, at the age of fourteen. She continued her musical education at the Bratislava Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, graduating with a Master’s degree. Collaboration has always been a central part of Andrea’s musical life. In 2007, she began further studies at Trinity College of Music in London, where she earned a Master’s degree in piano accompaniment under the guidance of Deniz Gelenbe and Eugene Asti.
During her time at Trinity, she was an Alfred Kitchin Scholar, received the Founders Prize for artistic excellence, and was selected to represent the college at the Gerald Moore Award competition for promising young accompanists.
Andrea was fortunate to participate in masterclasses with renowned artists such as Roger Vignoles, Julius Drake, Dame Felicity Lott, Dame Felicity Palmer, Anna Larsson, and Karine Georgian, among others. She was a finalist and prizewinner in several national and international competitions, and received a Tatra Banka Slovakia award for her proposal to promote Slovak music abroad.
Educational work
Andrea has been teaching piano both privately and in schools for nearly twenty years. She is proud to work with a number of talented students, many of whom have achieved Distinction in their grade exams.
In 2014, she founded Piano Maestros, a private piano academy based in Greenwich, South East London. With a small team of specialist tutors, Piano Maestros offers high-quality piano lessons with a strong emphasis on creative music-making and inclusive performance opportunities for all pupils.
Andrea enjoys sharing her professional knowledge and experience with her students and is passionate about making piano playing accessible to a wider audience through Piano Maestros’ tuition, concerts, and events.
Until recently, Andrea worked as a peripatetic piano teacher at the independent private school Radnor House in Sevenoaks. She also served as an official staff accompanist at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and at Junior Trinity, where she collaborated with young aspiring musicians.