About

Alexandra was born in Kiev, Ukraine, to a family of musicians. She started piano lessons at the age of 8 with her mother, the renowned pianist Irina Zaritskaya. Irina was a student of the great Yakov Flier in Moscow and a prizewinner at the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1960. In 1972 her family emigrated to Israel. Thereafter, she studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England, with Irina Zaritskaya at the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv University (where she completed her BMus degree Summa Cum Laude), and at the Royal College of Music in London, UK, where she completed a post graduate course. Alexandra has also participated in the International Musicians' Seminar in Cornwall, England, and has taken part in Masterclasses with Sandor Vegh, Gyorgy Kurtag, Stephen Kovacevic, Tamas Vasery, Andras Schiff and Steven Isserlis. Alexandra lived in Edinburgh, Scotland from 1987-1994, then in London, England 1994-2004. In 2004 she moved with her family to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and resides there at present.​

Alexandra has performed widely as soloist and chamber musician. She has appeared in Summer Festivals in Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Israel and Britain, has toured in Spain as a solo recitalist, and was a resident pianist at the Schleswig Holstein Festival in Germany from 1987-1994. She recorded Schubert's Shepherd on the Rock with the renowned clarinetist Giora Feidman for the "pläne" label, and was also broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Alexandra's duo partners have included  Jian Liu (vln), Sophie Renshaw (Vla), Claire Docherty (vln), Peter Evans (1 piano, 4 hands), Judith Herbert (vcl), Rona Murray (vln), Gabrielle Lester (vln), Daniel Hope (vln), Yuri Zhislin (vln), Michael D'Arcy (vln), Joseph Luptak (vcl), and Esther Geldard (vla).​Alexandra has extensive teaching experience from beginners to Diploma level and beyond. While living in Scotland, she taught at the Specialist Music Unit at Douglas Academy in Glasgow and frequently deputized at St. Mary's Music school in Edinburgh. From 1994 to 2004, when living in London, UK she taught at the Junior Department of the Royal College of Music in London and at the Music Schools at Eton College. She also taught piano at the Yehudi Menuhin School and The Royal College of Music as an assistant teacher in partnership with Irina Zaritskaya, with whom she had studied for most of her formative years.

After moving to Canada with her family in 2004, Alexandra became a Piano Instructor at the Conservatory at Mount Royal University in Calgary and worked there for 14 years. She presently teaches in her private studio situated in NW Calgary.​ Additionally, Alexandra formed  the Vermilion Duo with the accomplished violinist Andrea Neumann, and, prior to the Pandemic, the Duo performed extensively. Alexandra works as a collaborative pianist with several violin teachers in Calgary, as well as frequently accompanying her vocalist daughter, Natalie.​ 

Many of Alexandra's students have achieved exceptional results during her long teaching career, in ABRSM exams in England and RCM exams in Canada, including multiple First Class Honours with Distinction, from lower levels to ARCT. At the Calgary Performing Arts festival, every year since her students started participating, they have gained multiple Gold and Red certificates, and several have been selected to Alberta's Provincial Festival, and have gone on to win 1st and 2nd Places at the Provincials. Many of her students have also gone on to study Piano Performance for both undergrad and Masters degrees at prestigious post-secondary institutions, such as the Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, and Guildhall School of Music in London, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Northern College of Music in the UK, as well as institutions in Canada such as UBC and UofT, occasionally on a full scholarship. 

Alexandra is a member of the Alberta Registered Music Teachers' Association (ARMTA).