
LULWA AL-SHAMLAN
EDUCATION:
BMus - Classical Music, Piano Performance - Manhattan School of Music (USA)
MM - Classical Music, Piano Performance - Manhattan School of Music (USA) - expected Spring 2025
LANGUAGES: English

Lulwa Al Shamlan is a Kuwaiti-Bulgarian pianist and teacher. She has performed in various venues across Europe, the USA, Central Asia and the Middle East. Some notable performances include her appearance with the Uzbekistan State Symphony Orchestra where she performed Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 1 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as well as a solo recital at the House of Pianos in Dubai, UAE. In 2022, Lulwa performed Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No 2 in Doha, Qatar with the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.In New York, she has performed in Zankel and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall afterwinning second prize in the American Protege Competition and first prize in the Crescendo Competition. In September 2023, she performed Grażyna Bacewicz’s Piano Concerto with the Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra. Lulwa has also given solo recitals at the Polish Institute in Sofia, Bulgaria and CARA at the Jazz Orchestra of Matosinhos, Portugal in the summer of 2024.
In Kuwait, Lulwa was awarded the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Medal for Creative and Distinguished Youth in 2024. She has also received the Young Talent award at the Arab Woman Awards and featured in the book Those Who Inspire Kuwait which was supported by UNESCO. She has performed at venues such as Dar Al Athar Cultural Centre, Abdulhussain Abdulridha Theater and the Jaber Al Ahmad Cultural Centre (Kuwait Opera House). Lulwa was also invited to play at the opening ceremony of the Kuwaiti pavilion at EXPO Milan 2015. In London, she performed on multiple occasions during the Kuwait Cultural Days in 2016.
Lulwa has achieved numerous prizes in competitions from a young age. She was awarded first prize in the International Festival of the Young Performers of Classical Music in Baku, Azerbaijan. She has also won first prize in the Mid Somerset Festival in Bath, UK, as well as the most outstanding pianist prize. Her most recent competition success includes winning the Dora Zaslavsky Koch Concerto Competition at the Manhattan School of Music and winning second prize in the Elevato Piano Competition in Bern, Switzerland. Lulwa has received masterclasses from many renowned pianists, such as Vovka Ashkenazy, Matti Raekallio, Ludmil Angelov, Oleg Marshev, Barry Douglas, Michelle Cann and Christopher Elton.
As a teacher, Lulwa emphasizes the importance of curating an individual path for each student. She uses a variety of methods and approaches so each student can learn and enjoy to their full potential. She has experience teaching all ages and skill levels as well as preparing students for ABRSM piano and music theory exams. Lulwa’s expertise in ABRSM exams comes from her own experience of taking grades 1-8 in piano and music theory where she received distinction in both.
At the age of eight, Lulwa was accepted into Wells Cathedral School, one of the four specialized music schools in the United Kingdom. She then went on to study at the Manhattan School of Music (MSM) in New York, where she is studying with Dr Marc Silverman. Lulwa graduated from MSM with a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Piano and she was awarded the Roy M. Rubinstein Award given to a graduating female pianist who demonstrates exceptional promise in piano performance. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music.