Photography by Simon Pauly

Bulgarian-born Ms. Lacheva is the General Director and Co-Creator of the Collaborative Piano Institute, a leading summer program for collaborative pianists, singers, instrumentalists, and composers. In August 2024, she joined the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance piano faculty, following her role as Professional-in-Residence at Louisiana State University.

Ms. Lacheva has served as a vocal coach and répétiteur with organizations such as the New Orleans Opera, Houston Grand Opera as a Studio Artist, Opera in the Heights, and the Moores Opera Center at the University of Houston. She is an active member of the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society (IKCAS) and was a presenter at CollabFest 2020.

She is in demand as a clinician and teacher, with recent appearances at Cornell University and the 2025 Oklahoma University Music Teachers Association State Conference. Ms. Lacheva also performs with Ana María Otamendi as the Aelia Piano Duo, offering repertoire from Mozart to Gabriela Lena Frank. Over the past 20 years, she has been involved in numerous chamber, vocal, and instrumental performances, including at Chamber Music Amarillo’s Season Opener and Schubert’s Winterreise with tenor Paul Groves for Lyrica Baroque in New Orleans.

Her international performances include appearances in Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany, the United States, and Iceland. Ms. Lacheva completed her collaborative piano studies with Martin Katz at the University of Michigan in 2012, and has held prestigious fellowships at the Tanglewood Music Center and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program.

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