Pianist Élisabeth Pion Named Musical America’s New Artist of the Month
Last fall, Canadian pianist Élisabeth Pion was named Gold Laureate of the 2025 Honens International Piano Competition, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious awards of its kind. She is Musical America’s New Artist of the Month. Thomas May profiles the young artist, who is launching an international career.
Last fall, Canadian pianist Élisabeth Pion was named Gold Laureate of the 2025 Honens International Piano Competition, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious awards of its kind. The coveted Honens Gold carries a C$100,000 prize along with a three-year artist development program designed to launch an international career.
“Hearing Élisabeth Pion’s account of the Third Prokofiev Concerto with the Calgary Philharmonic, I was struck by her bright but controlled energy—dazzling without strain, lyrical yet spiced with attitude and wit,” writes Thomas May, profiling Pion, who is Musical America’s New Artist of the Month. “She moved easily among Prokofiev’s contesting moods without resorting to mannerism. The technique never drew attention to itself but was simply there, in service of a personal way of playing that convinced me she had something to say about this ultra-familiar score.”
Recently turned 30, Pion grew up in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, and began piano early, but only committed to it professionally in her late teens, after pursuing interests beyond music. She went on to study in Montréal before moving to London, where she is now based, completing her training at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
This month, Pion presents several recitals in Canada, performs Mendelssohn’s First Concerto with the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and a program of Beethoven concertos with the Arion Orchestre Baroque — a collaboration that will culminate in a complete Beethoven concerto cycle on disc, to be released by the end of 2027. More immediately, June brings a recording of Ravel’s G major Concerto and a solo album on the Steinway & Sons label.
Looking back on the past year, Pion admits: “You win a big competition, and honestly, you feel a bit lost. After so many years in the circuit, you wonder: what did you aim for?” What matters most, she suggests, is maintaining a sense of development.
Read the full piece here.
Shepherd School of Music Featured in OperaWire
Logan Martell traveled to the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University to explore the campus, speak with the faculty and students, and experience the school’s mainstage production of Verdi’s Falstaff. “It became clear that there was truly something special to be found there,” he reports for OperaWire.
On April 17, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University raised the curtain on its mainstage production of Verdi’s comedic opus Falstaff. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the school has grown from its inception as Rice’s music department through the support of community partnerships and donors, and has developed into a vibrant and effective center of musical education and collaboration.
Logan Martell traveled to Shepherd to explore the campus, speak with the faculty and students, and experience Falstaff. “It became clear that there was truly something special to be found there,” he reports for OperaWire.
“During my time on campus, it was not uncommon to glimpse classes or various practice, with students learning from truly renowned artists,” he says. “Without naming names, some of these I recognized from shows I have seen at places including the Metropolitan Opera. Leading the school since 2021, Dean Matthew Loden provided much insight on Shepherd’s recipe for success as we spoke and walked the building.”
Loden said:
I think over the 50 years of our history, the secret of our success is that we’ve maintained a very narrow focus. We’ve decided that there’s only a handful of things we want to do, but we want to do them better than anybody else, and we want to, wherever possible, avoid any kind of institutional drift — where the mission gets complicated or messy. What are the points of light that we need to pay attention to? [What do we need to do] in a different fashion to help amplify what we’re already doing for the benefit of the students and faculty that are here?”
Read Martell's piece here.
NYCR: Parlando wraps season with a laudable encore of cabaret music
New York Classical Review covers Parlando’s The Cabaret Project: Part II, the second chapter of a two-season collaboration with soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee.
Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, conductor Ian Niederhoffer, and Parlando (Crios Photography)
From smoky Berlin nightclubs to today’s jazz clubs, cabaret walks the line between satire and story. In the season-ending concert by the New York-based chamber orchestra Parlando, the music “was full of style, expression and historical and social significance,” writes New York Classical Review. Conducted by founder Ian Niederhoffer, the April 22 concert was the second of a two-season collaboration with soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee, exploring cabaret’s blend of sharp-edged social commentary and deeply personal storytelling. The program included Ernst Krenek’s jazzy Fantasie on Jonny spielt auf, Hanns Eisler’s punchy Kleine Sinfonie, Abel Meeropol’s haunting Strange Fruit, and the world premiere orchestration of Aaron Davis’s Zombie Blizzard.
Niederhoffer pinned modern cabaret music to the impact American military bands—notably James Reese Europe’s Harlem Hellfighters—had in Europe during WWI, explaining it as a mix of jazz and modern classical.
On Strange Fruit:
Brueggergosman-Lee was a welcome sight on stage to begin with, and she sang this with terrific musicality and pinpoint expression. Her sound had a rich throatiness, and she modulated it through each verse, pinching the last words into a kind of serrated blade. Moved out of the cabaret and into the concert hall, this was a superb set piece, a demonstration that art songs can and should be meant for the public.
On Zombie Blizzard:
As songs, each had a fine, masterful shape that followed the direction of the text and found natural heights and endpoints. The larger-scale form was also excellent, the entire thing following a clear journey from self-possession to a moving expression of how life feels after those around us pass on.
Read the full piece here.
Anne-Marie McDermott on Southern Arizona's PBS and NPR
Ahead of her performance at the University of Arizona’s Centennial Hall on May 1, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott joined Michael Dauphinais, from AZPM, to talk about the program, the art of practicing, being an arts administrator, and more.
On May 1, Anne-Marie McDermott, one of the most dazzling American pianists of her generation, will perform a program of music by Haydn and Brahms, with the audience joining her on stage at the University of Arizona’s Centennial Hall. Michael Dauphinais, from AZPM, Southern Arizona's PBS and NPR Station, recently talked with McDermott on the show Extempore about her program, the art of practicing, and being an arts administrator, among other things.
“I take the concept of ‘the greater the discipline, the greater the freedom’ really to heart,” McDermott said,
and I make my practicing as difficult as possible so that when I walk onstage, what I want to do in that moment is share what I'm so in love with: this music. That’s what I want to do. I don't want to be thinking about this passage or that passage; I just want to communicate the music. And the way to do that is through very disciplined practice.
Listen to the full radio segment here.
To find out more about the performance and get your tickets, click here.
Sandbox Percussion Brings "Canto Ostinato" to Emerald City Music
The exciting new-music group Sandbox Percussion performed Simeon ten Holt's Canto Ostinato at Emerald City Music. Classical Voice North America reports.
Sandbox Percussion, the exciting New York-based group at the forefront of contemporary music for percussion, performed Canto Ostinato at Seattle’s Emerald City Music. Written by Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt (1923-2012), Canto Ostinato is a classic of Minimalism that emerged alongside much better-known masterpieces in a similar style, particularly Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians. The April 10 performance was part of Sandbox’s residency this season with Emerald City Music, under the artistic direction of Kristin Lee.
The project is a collaboration between multi-instrumentalist and arranger Erik Hall and Sandbox Percussion, with an expanded ensemble of winds, strings, and additional percussion assembled through the new-music collective Metropolis Ensemble. The 16 musicians included faculty and students from the University of Washington School of Music, with Hall at the piano, and winds, strings and an expanded percussion group anchored by the four Sandbox members.
Critic Tom May reports:
This fuller chamber setting gave the internal workings of ten Holt’s design a new, more textured dimension. Small dissonances — sometimes absorbed in the keyboard original — emerged with sharper profile, introducing moments of piquant friction, while carefully calibrated swells and ebbs gave the larger ensemble passages an oceanic breadth, like the breathing of a single organism.
Read the full piece here.
(Photos by Carliln Ma)
SFCV: Anne Akiko Meyers and LACO’s Tribute to L.A.
San Francisco Classical Voice reviews Anne Akiko Meyers’ performance of Eric Whitacre’s The Pacific Has No Memory and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending.
The idea of fire fueled a rich, moving, and healing program of new and old music that the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra presented at Colburn Conservatory’s Zipper Hall on April 11, featuring violinist Anne Akiko Meyers and music director Jaime Martin.
Meyers performed Eric Whitacre’s The Pacific Has No Memory, for violin and strings, with which the composer and the soloist commemorate the Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires of January 2025. A Southern California native, Meyers spoke eloquently from the stage of her chaotic post-fire life of moving between hotels “with a family and a crazy dog and my violin.” Her polished, refined, and intonationally pure playing was the highlight of the evening, reports Harlow Robinson for San Francisco Classical Voice.
Inspired by an image of the Pacific as a source of endless renewal from his favorite film, The Shawshank Redemption, Whitacre’s work gives the violin a keening melody that rises and falls like the waves. Gramophone praised the “glowing steadiness” of Meyers’s performance on a recording of the piece she made recently with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, which gave the world premiere at Carnegie Hall last spring. The piece appears destined to become a lasting memorial to L.A.’s recovery.
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ soothing and soaring The Lark Ascending came between the two new works in the first half. Here, Meyers’s bowing technique — which she made look so easy — produced a flowing, liquid tone, a seamless stream of sound that along with her pitch-perfect fingering held the audience spellbound.
Read the full review here.
The Strad: Rachel Barton Pine bridges classic repertoire and contemporary realities
The Strad reports on the violinist’s performance of Dvořák, Beethoven, Dolores White, William Grant Still and Billy Childs on April 11 at Los Alamos Concert Association.
On April 11, the acclaimed concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine, celebrated for her dazzling technique and lustrous tone, appeared at the Los Alamos Concert Association in New Mexico, with pianist Matthew Hagle. The recital consisted of selections from Pine’s Blue Dialogues: Music by Black Composers album. It was a “high spirited and high minded” program, writes Richard Linnett for The Strad, “intentionally and cautiously hopeful in the teeth of turbulent times.”
The artist was fragile yet strong, angelic and earthy, a teacher, mother and a very bright light; she entertained her audience while teaching lessons of kindness, acceptance and healing through great music.
Read the full piece here.
Bachtrack: Yulianna Avdeeva Performs with the Pittsburgh Symphony
Star pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, gold medalist of the 2010 International Chopin Piano Competition, performed Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Bachtrack reviews.
Star pianist Yulianna Avdeeva, gold medalist of the 2010 International Chopin Piano Competition, performed Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Pittsburgh Symphony on April 10-12. “The electric chemistry between conductor, orchestra and soloist ensured this wasn’t merely an exercise in bombast, but a night of compelling music-making,” writes Sam Jacobson for Bachtrack.
Among the great piano concertos, Prokofiev’s Second stands out as a particularly taxing and unrelenting affair. This weekend the daunting challenge fell to Yulianna Avdeeva. A gentle, unassuming opening belied its scope, with the piano grave and searching at first, gingerly exploring the keyboard ahead of the fury. Matters quickly grew in intensity, with Avdeeva drawing a wide color palette and deep resonance from the Steinway. The jagged edges of the massive cadenza resounded with enormous power and percussiveness.
In about the only moment of subtlety of the evening, the pianist encored with a limpid, elegant account of Schubert’s charming Moment musical no. 3 in F minor.
Read the full review here.
Yulianna Avdeeva (credit: Kevin Kinzley)
Taiwan Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble Announces “From Formosa” U.S. Tour
The chamber ensemble from Taiwan Philharmonic embarks on its 2026 U.S. tour, “From Formosa,” with performances in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New York, May 15–19.
©Luo Wun Jie
Celebrating Taiwanese American Heritage Month with World Premieres and Cross-Cultural Collaborations
NEW YORK, NY — April 14, 2026 — The chamber ensemble from Taiwan Philharmonic embarks on its 2026 U.S. tour, “From Formosa,” with performances in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New York, May 15–19. “From Formosa” celebrates Taiwanese American Heritage Month through a richly curated program of world premieres, Taiwanese masterworks, and cross-cultural collaborations.
An elite group of musicians led by Taiwan Philharmonic Concertmaster Hao-Tun Teng, the chamber ensemble will present performances that feature acclaimed pianist Chun-Chieh Yen and the soulful voices of Taiwan’s Taiwu Ballads Troupe. The tour highlights a distinctive artistic vision that bridges Western chamber music traditions with the cultural heritage of Taiwan and its Indigenous communities. The performances take place at Thayer Hall, at Colburn School in Los Angeles; Camelback Bible Church in Phoenix; and Merkin Hall, at Kaufman Music Center in New York City.
A defining feature of “From Formosa” is the collaboration with Taiwu Ballads Troupe — one of Taiwan’s leading indigenous vocal ensembles, dedicated to preserving and performing music from the Paiwan, an indigenous people of Taiwan. In addition, the Phoenix concert features Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai, creating a powerful artistic dialogue between Taiwanese and Native American traditions.
“The Taiwan Philharmonic has long been committed to building meaningful cultural bridges through music,” said Dr. Lydia Wen-Chen Kuo, Executive Director of the Taiwan Philharmonic. “Following our previous international tours, ‘From Formosa’ gives us the timely opportunity to share Taiwan’s artistic voice in the United States during Taiwanese American Heritage Month. These collaborations with indigenous artists from both countries reflect shared histories, traditions, and a deeply personal connection that transcends borders.”
Program Highlights
“From Formosa” weaves together traditional and contemporary voices in a program that reflects Taiwan’s cultural diversity and artistic innovation. Highlights include:
Taiwanese indigenous polyphonic songs
Taiwanese Indigenous Music for String Quartet & Chorus (arr. by Ting-Chuan Chen)
Ke-Chia Chen: Silver Fields for Piano Quintet (world premiere, commissioned by Muzik 3 Foundation)
Tyzen Hsiao: The Highlander’s Suite for Piano Quintet
Yun-Jou Chen: Terra/ Liturgy for String Quartet (world premiere, commissioned by Hakka Affairs Council)
Aaron Copland: Two Pieces for String Quartet
James DeMars: Lake That Speaks for Native American Flute and Cello
Amazing Grace for Native American and Chamber Ensemble (arr. by Billy Williams)
Together, these works explore themes of identity, heritage, and cultural continuity, placing Taiwanese and indigenous traditions in dialogue with the Western classical canon.
Artists
The Taiwan Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble:
Hao-Tun Teng, violin
Yi-Ju Chen, violin
Jubel Chen, viola
Yi-Shien Lien, cello
Chun-Chieh Yen, piano
With special guest artists:
Taiwu Ballads Troupe
R. Carlos Nakai, Native American flute (Phoenix performance, May 17)
Los Angeles, CA
May 15, 2026 at 7 PM
Colburn School, Thayer Hall
Presented by Colburn School
Tickets: https://colburnschool.edu/calendar/events/from-formosa-taiwan-philharmonic-chamber-ensemble-2026-us-tour/
Phoenix, AZ
May 17, 2026 at 3 PM
Doors Open at 2 PM (Taiwanese Pop-up Fair starts in the church lobby)
Camelback Bible Church
Tickets*: http://taiwanphoenix.org
*Each ticket can be redeemed for $10 worth of souvenirs at the Taiwanese Pop-up Fair.
New York, NY
May 19, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center
Tickets: https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/from-formosa-taiwan-philharmonic-chamber-ensemble-2026-us-tour/
©Luo Wun Jie
About the Taiwan Philharmonic
Founded in 1986, the Taiwan Philharmonic, also known as the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at home, has been hailed as one of the best orchestras in Asia. With some of the finest musical talent from at home and abroad, trained at top schools and international orchestras, the NSO enjoys a unique voice rich in diversity and tradition. The NSO's artistic development has been carefully nurtured over the years by music directors Tsang-Houei Hsu, Tah-Sheng Chang, Jahja Ling, Wen-Pin Chien, and Shao-Chia Lü — as well as principal conductors Gerard Akoka and Urs Schneider, and conductor laureate Günther Herbig. Under the leadership of Jun Märkl as the music director since January 2022, the NSO aspires to resonate throughout the world as the cultural ambassador of Taiwan. Music by Taiwanese composers is extensively commissioned, performed, and recorded by the NSO.
As the orchestra affiliated with the National Performing Arts Center, the NSO presents a 40-week season of approximately 80 events — concerts, chamber recitals, operas, and crossover productions. Performing not only for audiences throughout Taiwan, the NSO also tours regularly overseas, having performed in such musical centers as Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Milan, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York City and many other cities.
About Taiwu Ballads Troupe
Taiwu Ballads Troupe (TBT) was founded by Camake Valaule at Taiwu Elementary School in Pingtung, Taiwan. Beginning in 2004, Camake worked closely with tribal elders to document traditional Paiwan melodies and vocal polyphony. These songs were then carefully taught to TBT’s members. The original members then continued the cycle of transmission by teaching the songs to a new generation. Today, TBT has become one of the most representative groups dedicated to preserving and performing Paiwan music.
Since its founding, TBT has appeared at major international festivals and venues across Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. In 2019, they were invited to perform on the main stage at WOMADelaide (Australia) and WOMAD New Zealand, becoming the first Taiwanese group invited to perform on the festival’s main stage.
Acknowledgements
LA Performance
Supervised by: Council of Indigenous Peoples, Taiwan; Hakka Affairs Council, Taiwan; Ministry of Culture, Taiwan; Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles
Appointed Airline: STARLUX Airlines
Event sponsored by: I-MEI Culture and Education Foundation
Event Partner: National Cultural Association of Taiwan
Special Thanks: UUIN; JIU ZHEN NAN
Phoenix Performance
Supervised by: Council of Indigenous Peoples, Taiwan; Hakka Affairs Council, Taiwan Sponsored by: TSMC Education & Culture Foundation
Appointed Airline: STARLUX Airlines
Event sponsored by: I-MEI Culture and Education Foundation
Event Partner: National Cultural Association of Taiwan
Special thanks: UUIN; JIU ZHEN NAN
New York Performance
Supervised by: Council of Indigenous Peoples, Taiwan; Hakka Affairs Council, Taiwan; Ministry of Culture, Taiwan; Taipei Cultural Center in New York
Sponsored by: CTBC Bank
Appointed Airline: STARLUX Airlines
Event sponsored by: I-MEI Culture and Education Foundation
Event Partner: National Cultural Association of Taiwan
Special Thanks: UUIN; JIU ZHEN NAN
Designated Hotel: Friendwell Group
Media Contact
Matt Herman
8VA Music Consultancy
matt@8vamusicconsultancy.com
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Seattle Chamber Music Society Launches SCMS Records
SCMS Records will debut in 2026 with three releases, marking the beginning of an ongoing recording initiative with a planned cadence of three to four releases annually.
Seattle Chamber Music Society Launches SCMS Records, a
New Record Label Showcasing Celebrated Artists and Performances
Photo by Jenna Poppe
Download photos here
Seattle, WA — April 7, 2026 — Seattle Chamber Music Society (SCMS), a cornerstone of the American chamber music landscape, today announced the launch of SCMS Records, a new in-house record label dedicated to sharing the Society’s acclaimed performances with audiences around the world. The news was announced today by James Ehnes, the Gilbert Omenn and Martha Darling Artistic Director of SCMS, and John Holloway, the Dr. Oliver E. Cobb Chief Executive Officer of SCMS.
SCMS Records will debut in 2026 with three releases, marking the beginning of an ongoing recording initiative with a planned cadence of three to four releases annually. The inaugural releases include recordings of works by Brahms and Dvořák in June, followed by a September release featuring Franck and Enescu. Artists joining Ehnes on the first three recordings are Andrew Armstrong, Edward Arron, Ani Aznavoorian, Inon Barnatan, Che-Yen Chen, Timothy Cobb, Jun Iwasaki, Tessa Lark, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Paul Neubauer, Grace Park, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Bion Tsang, and Jonathan Vinocour.
“Seattle Chamber Music Society has always been about bringing artists and audiences into close connection through extraordinary performances,” said Ehnes. “With SCMS Records, we have the opportunity to extend that experience far beyond the concert hall—capturing the energy, intimacy, and artistry of these performances and sharing them with listeners everywhere.”Recordings will be available across multiple formats, including CD, vinyl, and digital streaming and download platforms. Global physical and digital distribution will be handled by Naxos Music Group, the world’s largest distributor of independent classical music, with additional direct-to-consumer sales available through the SCMS website.
The label will draw from SCMS’s deep archive of live performances captured by sound engineer Simon Kiln, featuring internationally renowned artists in the uniquely collaborative environment that defines the organization’s festivals and concert series.
“SCMS is in a golden age, shaped by the extraordinary artistry and leadership of James Ehnes, producing performances that may stand as the most compelling interpretations of these works in our lifetime. We believe those moments deserve permanence. With the launch of our label, alongside the Virtual Concert Hall, we are capturing and sharing them with audiences worldwide,” saidHolloway.
Details about the first three releases follow.
Coming in June:
Brahms Violin Sonatas
Brahms: Violin Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78
Brahms: Violin Sonata No.2 in A major Op.100
Brahms: Violin Sonata No.3 in D minor Op.108
Brahms: Scherzo in C minor WoO 2
James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong
Recorded at Koerner Hall, Toronto 28-31 July 2024
Dvořák: String Quintets
Dvořák: String Quintet in G major Op.77
Dvořák: Intermezzo
James Ehnes, Tessa Lark, Jonathan Vinocour, Ani Aznavoorian, Timothy Cobb
Recorded at Nordstrom Recital Hall, Seattle, 11-12 July 2022
Dvořák: String Quintet in Eb major Op.97
James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Paul Neubauer, Che-Yen Chen, Edward Arron
Recorded at Nordstrom Recital Hall, Seattle, 6-7 July 2022
Coming in September:
César Franck: Piano Quintet in F minor
Inon Barnatan, James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Che-Yen Chen, Edward Arron
Recorded at Nordstrom Recital Hall, Seattle 8-9 July 2025
George Enescu: Octet for Strings in C major Op.7
James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Grace Park, Jun Iwasaki, Che-Yen Chen, Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, Edward Arron, Bion Tsang
Recorded at Nordstrom Recital Hall, Seattle 31 Jan-1 Feb 2025
SCMS Records represents a significant step in the organization’s continued evolution—expanding beyond live performance to become a year-round, globally accessible source for exceptional chamber music. In addition to the new label, SCMS Virtual Concert Hall, a concert streaming platform, presents world-class concerts and events to music lovers from around the globe. The traveling music venue, The Concert Truck, fueled by SCMS, presents concerts across the country and redefines how people experience live music.
For more information and release updates, visit seattlechambermusic.org.
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Contact:
Matt Herman
Managing Director
8VA Music Consultancy
matt@8vamusicconsultancy.com