Alisa Zaika (b. 2001) is a composer, conductor and pianist from Kyiv, Ukraine. Currently
based in the UK, she has acquired the Bachelor of Music and the Master of Composition
degrees at the Royal College of Music in London (composition with professors Haris
Kittos and Simon Holt and orchestral conducting with Prof. Howard Williams). Alisa is an
RCM Scholar and an artist of Talent Unlimited. In 2024-25 she has also completed the
Glover-Edwards conducting programme at the Royal Academy of Music with Sian
Edwards, Alice Farnham and Jane Glover.
In April 2025 Alisa’s new orchestral work “ASH” has been premiered at the Paris
Philharmonie’s Cité de la musique concert hall following a commission by the
Philharmonie and the Paris Mozart Orchestra (conductor – Claire Gibault). Alisa has
received prizes in international composition competitions, including the VCC Composer
Prize, the First Prize and US premiere of the winning work in the Cantori New York Score
Competition (Church of St. Francis Xavier, conductor – Mark Shapiro) and the Silver Medal
in the 7th Manhattan International Music Competition.
Alisa’s works have been performed in multiple important venues across the world,
including the DiMenna Centre in New York City, the Warsaw National Philharmonic
(Poland), LSO St Luke’s, the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall (UK) and the Theaterhaus
Stuttgart (Germany). Her music is also featured in the UCLA Library Contemporary Score
Collection.
Before coming to the UK, Alisa studied piano performance with Prof. Iryna Barinova and
composition with a renowned Ukrainian composer Alla Zahaykevych at the Kyiv State
Music Lyceum named after M. Lysenko.