Larissa Shahmatova was born in Vladivostok, Russia. She spent her formative years in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, studying violin with Matvey Liberman and Alexey Gvozdev, and continued her studies in Moscow under Eduard Gratch. By the age of 17 Ms. Shahmatova had performed solo concerts with Russia's major orchestras, such as Moscow Philharmonic, Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Saint-Petersburg Chamber Orchestra and Novosibirsk Philharmonic. She was a major prizewinner in the Russian National Diaghilev Competition and the First International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians.

Several prominent musicians in Portland, Oregon heard Ms. Shahmatova in 1993. Her playing made such an impression that the Oregon Symphony Music Director and Conductor James DePreist arranged for her to attend the Aspen Music Festival the following year on a full scholarship. At Aspen, Ms. Shahmatova studied with famed violin pedagogue Dorothy DeLay. Ms. DeLay invited her to come to New York, where she became a student at The Juilliard School.

Ms. Shahmatova has performed numerous solo recitals in New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington and California. She returned to Russia in 1996 for a concert tour featuring the violin concerto of Samuel Barber. Ms. Shahmatova made her debut performance with the Oregon Symphony in 1998 and was invited for a return engagement as a featured soloist for its Valentine'Äôs Day concert in 2000. She has also appeared with the New England Youth Ensemble, Federal Way Philharmonic, and one of her performances included the Mendelssohn Double Concerto for violin and piano at the Grass Valley Music Festival. Ms. Shahmatova's performances have been seen by many audiences on national television and heard on radio broadcast in both Russia and the United States.

Ms. Shahmatova received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from The Juilliard School in New York.