Sergei was born into a family of musicians in Karelia, Russia, and completed his first stage of conservatory study there before coming to Canada in 2002.  He completed his doctoral degree at UBC where he studied with Jane Coop.  He has performed in Russia, Portugal, Italy, France, Canada, the US and Australia, including a concert tour with Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, and a concert tour of four hand piano music with his brother, Nikolai, also an accomplished pianist.   He has received many awards, among them an award from the Vancouver Chopin Society, and the award for Best Canadian Artist at the Montréal International Musical Competition.