Shani Diluka
Shani Diluka (born 7 November 1976 in Monaco) is a pianist of Sri Lankan parents. She was among those to benefit from a programme initiated by Princess Grace of Monaco, which allowed talented children to receive special music lessons integrated into their normal schooling. She received the first prize in the Académie de Musique (Fondation Prince Rainier III). She subsequently studied with Odile Poisson, a pupil of Pierre Sancan. Enrolled in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1997, she studied with Georges Pludermacher and François-Frédéric Guy and later with Marie-Françoise Bucquet, Nicholas Angelich and Bruno Rigutto. Biography . Born in Monaco of Sri Lankan parents, she came to notice at the age of six thanks to a programme set up by Princess Grace of Monaco and was then chosen to take part in a specialised programme at the Académie Prince Rainier III in the Principality. She later entered the CNSMD in Paris, where she won a first prize, with the unanimity of the jury, after being advised by B. Rigutto, G. Pludermacher, M.-F. Bucquet and J. Chaminé. During this period, her meeting with Leon Fleisher philosophically and definitively marked her career. So it was that during her post -grade course, she met Maria Joao Pires, Menahem Pressler and Murray Perahia, all three of whom invited her to work with them. Other encounters were to follow in 2005, when she joined the Fondation de Come, presided by Martha Argerich. Among her future projects, Shani is preparing a “Cosmos” programme around the links between Beethoven and Indian music', whose mysticism historically inspired the Viennese composer.