She graduated St. Petersburg Conservatory (professors: E. A. Komarova, A. Y. Yuriev, and M. K. Gantwarg), and won a prize of the 9th All-Russian Violin Competition and a diploma of the D. D. Shostakovich International Competition in Hanover (special prize for the best performance of a Shostakovich composition.) She concertizes much, appearing with recital and chamber programs at the best venues of St. Petersburg, and in many Russian cities (Samara, Volgograd, Krasnoyarsk, Kislovodsk, Saratov, Archangel, etc.)
Lydia Kovalenko continuously tours as soloist and as a musician of the St. Petersburg Chamber Soloists ensemble in European countries such as Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, and in Japan, China, and Brazil. She is the concert master of the Divertissement String Ensemble, and a teacher at St. Petersburg Conservatory. In recent years, she has been actively performing also as violist.