Ivan Smaltsuga was born in the Ukraine to a family of classical musicians. He began playing the flute at age 5, and after moving to China at age twelve, continued his studies and performed with Kunming Philharmonic under the guidance of maestro Muhai Tang and Charles Olivieri-Munroe. Currently, he is pursuing his undergraduate studies at the Peabody institute of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore under Marina Piccinini.