Born into a family of musicians, Maria started piano lessons at the age of six. She eventually graduated with a Master's Degree from the P.I. Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. Maria has also studied with various professors of note, including Alexander Alexandrov (Russia), Warren Thomson (Australia), Dina Ioffe (Israel), Vladimir Krainev (Russia), Norma Fisher (Great Britain), Oxana Yablonskaya (USA-Israel), Cristina Ortiz (Brazil), Marios Papadopoulos (Great Britain), and Hose Ribera (Denmark).

As well as performing as a soloist with various Ukrainian orchestras and conductors, Maria regularly gives piano recitals. Her repertoire includes the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Rachmaninov, as well as works by Ukrainian composers.

Maria is also a Director of the Ensemble of Soloists "Solo Plus", which she established with Anton Kushnir in 2004. "Solo Plus" is a small orchestra which showcases leading young Ukrainian performers from different disciplines.

In recent years, Maria has performed in various festivals and projects both in Ukraine and abroad, including the international festival Split's Summer (Croatia), Kyiv Music Fest (Ukraine), Oxford Philomusica Second and Third International Piano Festival (Great Britain), Inspiring Classics (Finland), Kiev's Summer Musical Evenings (Ukraine), Chamber Music Session (Ukraine), Musical constellation of the Carpathians (Ukraine), Rhapsody of Polissia (Ukraine), and Festival of Art Masters (Ukraine). Her international appearances include performances in the USA, Japan, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Russia, France, Hungary, Great Britain, Austria, Poland, Finland, Netherlands, and Denmark.

Maria Pukhlianko holds several appointments, and has achieved various accolades which include Honored Artist of Ukraine, laureate of several international piano competitions, a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), a Professor at the Summer Musical Academy of the International Competition for young pianists in memory of Vladimir Horowitz, and Professor at the P.I. Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine.

As the Art Director for the international festival, Dynasty, Maria has directed several projects, including The Art of Playing With an Orchestra. Ms Pukhlianko is also a jury member and chief of the jury for several international piano competitions, which take place in Ukraine, Spain, Japan, and Israel.