Praised by critics for his “precision and technical brilliance” and “the power and clarity of execution in his performances”, concert pianist Aza Sydykov is also noted worldwide as a piano and vocal coach, music director accompanist, and arts entrepreneur. 

A graduate of Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory and New York’s New School University, Sydykov also serves as Minister of Music at the historic Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Manhattan and President of the Kyrgyz American Foundation in New York City, which sponsors the Eurasia Festival as well as various cultural exchange and educational activities. In North Carolina, he is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Wilmington Music Festival. 

He made his professional debut as a piano soloist at age 17 at Moscow’s International House of Music with the National Philharmonic of Russia. He has since performed all over the world - in Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, Finland, Ukraine, and China.  In the United States, he has appeared as a solo pianist at Carnegie Hall and in various other prestigious concert venues across the country.  

Sydykov has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the First Prize and the Grand Prize of Italy’s Euterpe International Piano and Chamber Music Competition. He is a Fellow of the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation, the New Names Foundation, and the Nikolai Petrov International Philanthropic Foundation.

He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, Merkin Concert Hall, the Kennedy Center, Moscow’s International House of Music, the Great Hall of Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Palace of Nations in Geneva, and with the Kyrgyz National Philharmonic. 

During his performance career, he has collaborated with numerous world-renowned artists and teachers like Placido Domingo, Christine Weidinger,  Joyce DiDonato, Zurab Sotkilava, Mikhail Svetlev, Arthur Levy, Trish McCaffrey, Mark Schnaible, Beth Roberts, and Robert White. 

His students perform in major opera houses and concert Venus around the world, including The Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan, La Scala, Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Liçeo, and the San Diego Opera; with major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the American Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's; and in major festivals like Salzburg, Ravinia, and Caramoor. 

His studio includes adult beginners and young musicians who have moved on to study at top music schools including the Mannes School of Music, Indiana University, Oberlin Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, and the Brooklyn College-Conservatory.