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llinka Manova is an award-winning Macedonian American pianist. Throughout her life, she has pursued her passion for music in a comprehensive study of music. She completed her formative music years with Professor Valentina Nolcheva in Skopje and subsequently studied piano with Dr. Arbo Valdma in Cologne, Germany, and Dr. Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music in New York. She received a full scholarship to study with Professor Stephanie Brown at SUNY Purchase, earning a master’s degree and an Artist Diploma. Currently, she is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts under the tutelage of Dr. Angelina Gadeliya at the University of Connecticut.

Ilinka is the 1st prize winner of the 29th Artists International Competition in New York. She gave a solo recital at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in 2001. She has received several awards, including the prestigious DAAD German Scholarship, Citta di Senigallia, Italy and the Yugoslav National Competition Award for Musicians in Sarajevo. Her performances have taken her to the world-famous concert stages, including National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in Taiwan, Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, the United Nations, Steinway Hall, Merkin Hall, Paul Hall, Von der Mehden Recital Hall, Opera America, Donnell New York Public Library, Palazzo Altieri, Bohemian National Hall. Solo and chamber music concert engagements have included performances in Paris, Rome, Bonn, Cologne, Geneva, Senigallia, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Skopje, Ohrid. Ilinka has performed throughout Eastern Europe, and in major cities across the United States. She has been featured in The New York Times, Greenwich Time, The Journal News and in all significant Macedonian newspapers. Her repertoire ranges from well-loved standards to contemporary music, focusing on new works from her native Macedonia.

Ilinka serves as a Managing Director for ArtsAhimsa, an NPO that promotes nonviolence through the arts. A much sought-after teacher, Ilinka is a member of the piano faculty at the Browning School and The Diller-Quaile School of Music in New York City. Many of her young students have become laureates at piano competitions, performing at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Liederkranz Foundation, The Dimenna Center, and Engelman Recital Hall to name a few. From 2012-2022 Ilinka co-managed Rondo Young Artist, an international concert presentation and competition, encouraging young musicians to further their talents as classical singers and instrumentalists. As an Executive Director and Co-Founder of Rondo, she organized yearly debut concerts for Rondo winners at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall and the Rondo Summer Academy in Geneva-Blonay in Switzerland. Ilinka resides in New York City with her husband and their two teenage daughters.