ABOUT
Ileana Posada Shaner began studying piano at age 11. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from the University of Virginia where she studied piano with Marjorie Mitchell and Tannis Gibson. She continued her education at the University of Maryland under the tutelage of Bradford Gowen, where she completed a Master of Music in Piano Performance as a full fellow.
In 1992, she was awarded a fellowship for the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the University of Maryland, before making her way to Greenville where she has lived since 1993.
Ileana continued coaching with Anne Koscielny and Raymond Hanson in Shelburne Falls, MA, until 2017.
Ileana has performed with the Brevard Music Center Orchestra and the University of Virginia’s Camerata Rotunda. She has played solo and chamber music recitals in the southeastern United States, and has served on the piano faculty and collaborative piano staff at Furman University. Ileana collaborates regularly with Carolina Ballet Theatre, performing works such as Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Preludes Op. 23, and most recently, Arvo Part’s Spiegel im Spiegel. Ileana also teaches private students in her home.
During her studies at the University of Maryland, Ileana’s desire for personal growth and continued performance improvement in music led her to the Japanese martial art of Ki Aikido. Having trained for 25 years, she currently holds the Aikido rank of 5th degree black belt, the Ki rank of joden, and is a Certified Lecturer for the International Ki Society.
In 1996, she and her Aikido partner, Eric Harrell, won the first International World Cup Taigi competition in Tochigi, Japan. Since then, she has taught Aikido and performed in various demonstrations throughout the United States, Japan and Russia. She is a senior instructor of the South Carolina Ki Aikido dojo.
In 2000, Ileana began practicing yoga, and in 2015, completed her Registered Yoga Teacher 200 training. She has since been teaching yoga to groups and private clients.
Ileana is passionate about experiencing oneness of mind, body and spirit. This coordinated existence lives beneath the habits of separation that we have adopted throughout our lives, habits that create unnecessary conflict and limit our potential. It is through Aikido movement, Ki development exercises, breathing and meditation, yoga, music, and creative artistry that Ileana encourages her students to discover their natural potential.
Ileana is married and lives with her husband and three children in Greenville, SC.