Polina performs on Show 476.

Polina Strela (piano), 18, is a senior at the Brearley School in New York City. Polina has been a piano student at Kaufman Music Center since age five. She currently studies with Natela Mchedlishvili as part of the Young Artist Program.

In the fall of 2025, Polina won New York State MTNA Senior Piano Competition. In 2024, she won the first prize in the senior category at Cremona International Music Academy Piano Competition and played with the festival orchestra in Museo del Violino. In 2024, Polina also won a top prize in Young Artists category at the XV Chopin International Piano Competition in Hartford, CT and 2024 Lucy Moses Concerto Competition and played with orchestra at Concerto Competition Winners Concert at Merkin Hall.

Polina has performed at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall and Steinway Hall. She has appeared in numerous masterclasses with distinguished faculty and has taken part in multiple international music festivals such as Kaufman Music Center’s SummerFest, Belp Music Festival, Puerto Piano & Strings, Vivace International Piano Festival, and Music Fest Perugia.

During her music career, Polina participated in multiple chamber groups, including piano trios, piano quintet, piano ensembles, and violin duets. She participated in North Shore Chamber Music Festival, Art of Collaboration Workshop where her performance was streamed on the Violin Channel in 2025.

Beyond performance, Polina is passionate about music education and service. At the Brearley School, she is a co-head of the Music Mentorship Club where she mentors young musicians and organizes intergenerational outreach concerts. At school, Polina also enjoys various academic subjects such as statistics, political science and math. Polina is also passionate about community outreach and volunteers for ENGin where she teaches English weekly to a family in Ukraine. She has a passion for languages and is fluent in Russian and Spanish.