Alexander Kostritsa was born in Moscow to the musical family and started his piano lessons at the age of six. During his school years he became a prizewinner of several youth competitions and performed as a soloist in Russia, Japan, Czech Republic, and South Korea.  Alexander continued his education at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied with a renowned composer-pianist Mikhail Petukhov. He became a prizewinner of international competitions “Premio Rovere d’Oro” (Italy, 2007, 1st prize) and “Paul Badura-Skoda” (Spain, 2010, finalist).  During that time, he also performed as a soloist in Russia, Germany, Croatia, Bulgaria, and other countries.  In 2011 Alexander came to Cleveland to study with Antonio Pompa-Baldi at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He graduated in 2014 with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano performance. Following his graduation, Alexander recorded solo albums on Divine Art and Grand Piano labels. He also released an original album “The Fight” under a stage name Alex Veloce that is currently available on most streaming platforms.