Ukrainian-American Cellist VALERIYA SHOLOKHOVA is an in-demand soloist and chamber musician based in New York City. Valeriya has made recent appearances on notable stages such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, David Geffen Hall, The Kennedy Center, Metropolitan Museum, and Saturday Night Live. She has toured internationally across Europe, performing in Denmark, Austria, Croatia, Poland, the Baltic States, Sweden, Germany, and Ukraine. In 2022, Valeriya became the founding member of Trio Fadolin, a new ensemble with a unique sonority. Since then, The Trio has become a recipient of Chamber Music America's Ensemble Forward Grant and has recorded an album of newly-commissioned works for the ensemble. 

​Valeriya is a laureate of several international competitions, including the Liezen International Cello Competition and the Antonio Janigro Competition, and was the principal cellist at a number of music festivals, including Spoleto Festival USA, Orchestra of the Americas, Perlman Music Program, Music Academy of the West, and Thy Music Festival in Denmark. She is currently the principal cellist of a number of chamber orchestras, including The New Orchestra of Washington, The Refugee Orchestra Project, and is on the Lincoln Center Stage roster. Valeriya has recorded with Albany Records, and in 2021, she performed the US Premiere of Peteris Vasks' Cello Concerto No. 2 in Boston, Massachusetts.

​Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Valeriya is a graduate of The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, where she was a full scholarship student of Bonnie Hampton and David Geber. While at MSM, she had the opportunity to study at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, Denmark with Prof. Morten Zeuthen. Deriving a great sense of purpose from community outreach, Valeriya is on the roster of Sing for Hope, performing at hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional facilities.