Las Vegas runs on rooms full of people who have already seen everything. A live concert pianist is one of the few things that still makes them stop. I am Dr. Maria Pisarenko — Doctor of Musical Arts, prizewinner of international competitions in Paris and Rome, and a performer on stages across Russia, Europe, Asia and the United States. I play corporate receptions, client dinners, award evenings, hospitality suites and convention floors.
The first hour sets the tone for everything after it. Live piano fills a room at a volume that lets people hear one another — which is the entire point of a reception.
On a floor built out of screens and noise, an acoustic instrument is the contrast. Played in a lounge, a suite or an exhibitor space, it slows people down and holds them longer than a monitor does.
Where the real conversations happen. A pianist in the corner of a suite signals care without a single word of branding.
Arrival music, the settling of the room before the programme, and interludes between speakers. Timed to the run of show, not to a setlist.
Small rooms, quiet playing. The music is there to make the table feel considered, and to disappear when it should.
Product launches, grand openings, anniversaries and holiday parties — anywhere a company wants the evening to feel like an occasion rather than a booking.
Most event music is chosen to be inoffensive. That is a low bar, and guests feel it. A performer trained on concert stages plays the same familiar repertoire with phrasing, dynamics and control — which is why a room goes quieter rather than louder when the playing is good.
It also means the programme can move. A reception that starts at Satie and Debussy can end at Rachmaninoff if the evening earns it. Nothing has to be pre-recorded, and nothing has to be repeated.
For corporate clients this matters in a specific way: the pianist is a credential in the room. A DMA, international competition prizes and concerto appearances with orchestra are things your guests can be told, and then hear confirmed.
A business event usually asks for the beautiful and the recognisable — music guests know without being asked to listen. A typical evening draws on:
Chopin — nocturnes, waltzes, the Raindrop prelude
Debussy — Clair de lune, Rêverie, Arabesque
Satie — Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes
Beethoven — the Moonlight Sonata, Für Elise
Bach — Air on the G String, the Prelude in C
Pachelbel — Canon in D
Mozart, Schumann, Tchaikovsky — the lighter, singing pieces
Rachmaninoff — when the evening asks for something larger
Film and popular melodies — arranged for solo piano, by request
Your own request — one piece that matters, prepared in advance
Solo recitals and concerto appearances across Russia, Europe, Asia and the USA — including the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Paris Conservatory, the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Santa Cecilia in Rome.
Second Prize at the International Piano Competition in Memory of Sviatoslav Richter, Paris, and at the Frédéric Chopin International Competition, Rome.
Trained at the Central Music School of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music, in the direct line of Goldenweiser, Neuhaus, Nikolayeva and Yudina.
Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. University faculty, Steinway Top Teacher, featured on Nevada Public Radio.
Grieg — Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 · live with orchestra
Mozart — Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 · live with orchestra
Chopin — Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 · live
Solo piano is the main offer, and for most business events it is all a room needs. Duo with violin or cello, accompaniment for a singer, or a small ensemble can be arranged by request, booked well in advance and priced accordingly.
An acoustic piano at the venue is required. I play the instrument that is in the room — I do not bring one, and I do not play on an electronic keyboard. If your venue has no piano, one can be hired in for the day; ask them what is in the room and tell me early, so the programme is prepared for that instrument.
I play throughout the Las Vegas valley, and I travel beyond it for the right event — travel outside the valley is quoted with the booking.
Two hours is the minimum booking. Travel and any breaks within the engagement are part of the booked time and are included in the quote.
This is a concert engagement, not background cover. The programme is prepared for your room, the playing is at concert level, and the quote reflects that.
Attire is concert dress by default; black tie, all black, or something quieter on request.
Planning a wedding instead? See the wedding page. For every other occasion — private parties, galas and memorials — see live piano for Las Vegas events.
Receptions and opening evenings, conventions and trade shows, hospitality suites, award evenings, client dinners, product launches and galas — anywhere the room is meant to feel considered rather than merely filled with sound.
Yes — an acoustic piano at the venue is required. I play the instrument that is in the room; I do not bring one of my own, and I do not perform on an electronic keyboard. Ask your venue what they have, and if there is no piano, one can be hired in for the day. Either way, tell me early, so the programme is prepared for that particular instrument.
Two hours is the minimum booking. Travel and any breaks within the engagement are part of the booked time and are included in the quote.
That is arranged with you personally rather than sold as a fixed package. Tell me the shape of your day — when music should begin, when it should stop, and what happens in between — and I will propose the playing and the breaks around it. Breaks fall inside the booked time, so the programme runs to your schedule, not to mine.
Yes. One requested piece is prepared in advance as part of every booking. If you would like more than one, ask early and we will plan it into the programme.
As early as you can. The date is held for one event only, so the earlier you write, the more likely your date is free and the more time there is to prepare a programme, and any requested piece, properly for your room.
Yes. A retainer reserves your date and takes it off the calendar for anyone else; the balance and the cancellation terms are confirmed in writing together with your quote.
I play throughout the Las Vegas valley — Las Vegas, Henderson, Summerlin, Enterprise and Spring Valley — and I travel beyond it for the right event. Travel is included in the quote.
Solo classical piano is the booking — that is what I do and what the programme is built around. A duo with violin or cello, accompaniment for a singer, or a small ensemble can be added by request, booked well in advance and priced accordingly, but the piano is the centre of the evening.
Concert attire by default. Black tie, all black, or something quieter on request — tell me what the room calls for.
Every event is quoted individually, so there is no price list. To prepare a quote I need the date, the start time and how long you would like music; the venue, and whether a piano is already there; the occasion and the mood you have in mind; and any piece that must be included. This is a concert engagement, not background cover — the programme is prepared for your room, the playing is at concert level, and the quote reflects that.
Dr. Maria Pisarenko — Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, trained at the Central Music School of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music. Second Prize at the International Piano Competition in Memory of Sviatoslav Richter in Paris and at the Frédéric Chopin International Competition in Rome. University faculty in Nevada and Utah, Steinway Top Teacher, featured on Nevada Public Radio.
Send the date and the venue and I will come back to you with a programme suggestion and a quote. Convention season fills early — the sooner you write, the more I can prepare for you.