Ilona is an advisor and consultant to international artists and arts organizations in Europe and the United States. Born in Berlin, she grew up in Frankfurt and lives in New York City. In Berlin, she serves as an artistic advisor to the newly established NOACK Kultur Forum. In New York, she is a consultant for the Turkish-American Cultural Laboratories on cultural affairs.

Most recently, she has joined the Lera Auerbach International Archive as its curatorial advisor. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and an M.A. in Arts Administration from the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College, The City University of New York.
A member of the Music Critics Association of North America, Ilona has profiled a vast range of performers, from Sir Andras Schiff to Yuja Wang and Evgeny Kissin to Igudesman & Joo. Her work has appeared in print and online publications such as PianoNews, Moment Magazine, Classical Post, Sequenza21, Classical Voice, Naxos, and Listen Magazine. In 2017, her in-depth interview with pianist Inon Barnatan was published by Staccato Verlag in the German book series of conversations with pianists - Gespräche mit Pianisten.

Ilona has served as a judge on the jury panel of the George Gershwin International Competition, Boston University's Concerto Competition, the Anselmo Academy Competition, and the Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy Competition. Numerous international festivals have invited her to report on her impressions, including the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, the Golandsky Seminar and Festival at Princeton, the Joseph Gingold Festival in Miami, the Verbier Festival, the Progretto Martha Argerich in Switzerland, and the International Competition of Polish Music in Rzeszow, Poland.
As a founder of GetClassical (since 2008), Ilona has built a unique catalog of articles sharing artists’ talent in a global cultural context. The online publication was named Blog of the Month by Gramophone Magazine. GetClassical’s footprint expanded in 2012 with its collaborative boutique concert series. Aimed at new audiences, it has showcased diverse talents, such as Pavel Nersessian, Michael Brown, Chin-Yun Hu, and Misha Maisky, in classical salon concerts in the city’s more unconventional venues for this genre, such as Gramercy Park’s Rose Bar, India House, and Zincbar, and at the iconic Le Poisson Rouge and Carnegie Hall.

With the series’ outreach division, GetClassical In School (since 2018), some of these musicians have performed in New York City classrooms. Inspired by the German Rhapsody in School, an initiative by the late German pianist Lars Vogt, musicians provide a personal perspective of their talent, repertoire, and profession as part of an inter-curricular program that cultivates the next generations’ demand for artistic excellence.
As a female writer and entrepreneur, she supports women-led organizations and individual female artists by giving them a platform to amplify their voices.
As an outreach committee member of the Music Critic Association of North America, Ilona helps to popularize the works of artists of color with articles highlighting their experience in the classical music industry. Additionally, she is a member of the National Writers League and the Authors Guild.

Ilona is an artist member of the America Israel Cultural Foundation, an honorary board member of the Anselmo Academy, and a board member of the Fritz Ascher Society for Persecuted, Ostracized, and Banned Art.