Biography

Aizhana Nurkenova is an award-winning composer and concert pianist. A Kazakh-born British musician, Aizhana studied with the Trio di Trieste in Italy and then completed Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance with Distinction at the Royal Academy of Music in London under the guidance of renowned pianist and professor Hamish Milne. She was awarded the Hodgson Piano Fellowship and won the Harriet Cohen Bach Prize from the Musicians’ Company, joining the Company’s Yeoman Young Artists Programme.

As a concert pianist, Aizhana has given solo recitals in the UK, Italy and Kazakhstan, as well as chamber recitals at the Royal Festival Hall in London and the Juilliard School in New York. She was a piano soloist with the Kazakh State Philharmonia from 2009 to 2016. Aizhana’s particular affinity with the music of J.S. Bach led her to perform and record the complete English Suites. Her playing has drawn praise from International Piano magazine, which described her performances as “exhilarating” and “singing to heaven”.

Aizhana’s current focus is composition for screen, following completion of a Master’s degree in Composing for Film and Television at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) as a PRS Foundation Scholar. Her recent screen work has received international recognition – the documentary I Want to Live won a 2026 Student Academy Award and was also longlisted for the BAFTA Student Awards; Ether was selected for La Cinef at the 78th Cannes Film Festival; and Corps à Cœur (Body to Heart) was selected as a finalist at the 2026 Student Academy Awards and longlisted for Best Student Documentary at the Grierson Awards. Aizhana’s audio drama work includes The Great Goose Migration, which won Gold at the New York Festivals Radio Awards.

In her screen music, Aizhana combines classical craftsmanship and orchestral scoring with a modern musical language, blending synth textures and unconventional sounds. Her approach is collaborative and story-led – she works closely with directors and creative teams to find a distinctive musical voice for each project and continues to develop new collaborations across film and screen music.

Award: Harriet Cohen Bach Prize 2009

Page Updated: October 2026