Born in Russia, pianist Irina Stene was accepted to a public music school at the age of six. By 14, she moved away from her family to study piano performance at a music academy in Arkhangelsk, where she was accepted on a full scholarship. There she completed a bachelor's degree as a piano performer, concertmaster and piano teacher.
She continued her education at the Petrozavodsk State Conservatoire with a full scholarship. In 2003, she graduated as a piano performer, concertmaster and piano instructor, earning a Master's degree.
She served as staff accompanist/pianist at a music school in Saint Petersburg, Russia, working with children's groups and maintaining a private piano studio of students of all level and ages.
Since her arrival in St. Cloud in 2010, Stene has collaborated at St. Cloud State and College of St. Benedict/St. John's University (CSB/SJU), playing faculty and student recitals. She also maintains her private piano studio for students five- to 15-years-old. Her primary goal is to combine European and American educational systems into developing an individual program for each student that would support each students’ strong side and illuminate weaknesses, if any, to balance students’ skills. In her opinion, the lessons should be fun and productive at the same time.
Stene graduated in 2018 from the University of Minnesota with DMA in collaborative piano/coaching.
She is an active performer in the Twin Cities and St. Cloud areas. She was invited to participate in the 2018-19 Minnesota Varsity program hosted by Minnesota Public Radio. She is a lead pianist for musical theater productions at CSB/SJU. Stene is a member of the piano faculty at The Rubinstein Academy in the Twin Cities, maintaining a piano studio for children of any age and skill level.