About composer

It all started at 5 y.o.

Since that, I'm trying making a music

that helps people be better

Diana Kulakova was born on August 23, 2001, in the city of Baikalsk, Irkutsk Oblast. She has been involved in music since the age of five. She graduated with honors from both the music (piano class) and art departments of the Children’s School of Arts in Baikalsk. During her school years, she was a member of the exemplary Russian folk song ensemble “Zvonnitsa,” a participant in the Baikal Children’s Variety and Wind Orchestra “TerraBaik” (piano), and became a multiple laureate of All-Russian variety vocal competitions.

In 2016, she entered the Irkutsk Regional Music College named after Frédéric Chopin in the variety department, specializing in jazz piano. In 2018, she was among the invited guests at World Jazz Day (St. Petersburg). In 2020, she graduated from the Irkutsk Regional Music College named after F. Chopin with honors.

Diana is a graduate of the Pop Music Department of the F. Chopin Irkutsk Regional Music College (Piano), the Department of Music Theory and Composition of the Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Institute of Arts (Composition), and an assistant trainee at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (Composition).

She is a composer of symphonic, chamber vocal and instrumental, choral (sacred and secular), as well as applied music (for audiovisual projects, philharmonic theatrical-musical productions, etc.), including music for Russian folk instrument orchestra and for variety-jazz ensemble. She is a laureate and diploma recipient of All-Russian and International competitions both as a performer and composer. Her works have been performed at various concert venues in Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Saratov, Svirsk, Khabarovsk, St. Petersburg, and other cities. She has collaborated with the children’s animation studio of the School of Creative Industries (Krasnoyarsk), with the soloists ensemble “Virtuosos of Krasnoyarsk” under the direction of Honored Artist of Russia Alexander Shendrik, the Far Eastern Academic Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Ruslan Antipinsky (Khabarovsk), as well as with the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble “MACM”.

She is a member of the creative association “Union of Spiritual Composers” (St. Petersburg) and a member of the Russian Authors’ Society.

Excerpt from interview to AiF newspaper, issue No. 24, 2024

Not copying, but creating something new

“We need to set higher goals. If you are a creator, not a craftsman, then the priority is always on substance. It’s necessary to constantly develop, because there is no limit to perfection. Of course, in today’s realities, it’s very difficult for musicians. The ability to write music alone is not enough; you need to be a producer, screenwriter, manager, arranger, and also know how to protect your copyright. But in the pursuit of success, the main thing is not to lose your individuality. We need to make music that doesn’t follow the crowd, but pulls it to a new level. We can shape the listener’s taste; it’s important to emphasize elevation rather than pandering.”