Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Rita Shklar has enjoyed a successful career as an international soloist, chamber musician and teacher. She has performed extensively in the United States, Russia, Hungary and Italy. Following her televised debut as a soloist with the St. Petersburg Youth Philharmonic at the age of 13, Ms. Shklar earned her B.M. degree from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory College in St. Petersburg. She then attended Longy School of Music in Massachusetts for graduate studies. After moving to NJ and completing her studies at Rutgers University, she was awarded an M.M. degree. Among her teachers were Theodore Lettvin, Victor Rosenbaum, and Joseph Lebed. Ms. Shklar participated in master classes with such legendary pianists as Menahem Pressler, Claude Franck, Nathan Perelman, and Grigory Sokolov.
Devoted to teaching and to her students, Ms. Shklar has been on the faculty of Westminster Conservatory since 1994, teaching piano and chamber music. She also teaches for the Westminster Choir College Professional Pedagogy Certificate Program. Ms. Shklar was on the music faculty at the College of New Jersey from 2002 to 2006. A resident of Princeton, she has frequently served as an adjudicator for competitions, festivals and the New Jersey Governor’s School. She has given master classes in the United States and Germany.
Ms. Shklar’s students are recipients of top prizes at prestigious international, national, state and local competitions including- Eastman International Young Artists Competition, Marian Garcia Competition, Steinway Competition, Bart Pittman Competition for high school seniors, NJMTA Young Artists Competition, Cecilian Young Artist Competition, Princeton Festival (senior and open divisions), Westminster Concerto and Scholarship Competitions, the Music Club of Princeton Scholarship Competition, and many others. Her students frequently performed at the major music halls in the United States. Many of them went on to study at the most prestigious universities and music schools.
Ms. Shklar has received numerous awards for her outstanding teaching including, among others, the Cecilian Distinguished Pedagogy Award and the Golden Circle of Teachers Award from the Andrew De Grado Competition.