Glossary: o

Oscar Verdeal

Oscar Verdeal

Oscar Verdeal is a Cuban-born pianist, music promoter, and educator. As a pianist, he has won several prizes and recognition, and has performed throughout Mexico, Spain, the United States, and Cuba.

Dedicated to spreading the joy of classical music to all kinds of audiences, he has collaborated with different institutions to develop concert projects, workshops, and community activities. Some of his favorites include the Martin Luther King Center in Havana, UNICEF, the Historian Office of Havana City, and senior living centers. Oscar holds a strong commitment to performing interpretations of Cuban music. He worked as a professor of piano for many universities in Cuba before making his home here in Fort Worth.

Outside of music, Oscar is very passionate about mindfulness techniques, including yoga and meditation. He holds degrees in piano from the University of the Arts in Havana and from TCU, and is excited to step out from behind the keyboard to join Cliburn in the Classroom as a host!

Olivia Larco

OLIVIA LARCO

United States  I  13

Olivia Larco has music in her blood: her mother is a pianist, and her father plays viola in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In March 2020, she made her recital and radio debuts at the same time, appearing on NPR’s From the Top in concert at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills; later that year, she began lessons with 1993 Cliburn Finalist Fabio Bidini at The Colburn School. She is a current Lang Lang Scholar who received a full merit scholarship to the 2022 Aspen Summer Music Festival. The Pasadena resident attends the Westridge School for Girls and made her national TV debut in May 2019, playing a piano prodigy on the series finale of ABC’s “Modern Family.” She has also written three novels.

 

 

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Orion Weiss

ORION WEISS – UNITED STATES

One of the most sought-after soloists and chamber music collaborators of his generation, Orion Weiss is widely regarded as a “brilliant pianist” (The New York Times) with “powerful technique and exceptional insight” (The Washington Post). He has dazzled audiences with his passionate, lush sound and performed with dozens of orchestras in North America including the Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and New York Philharmonic.

Recent seasons have seen Orion in performances for the Lucerne Festival, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, 92nd Street Y, and at the Aspen, Bard, Ravinia, and Grand Teton summer festivals. Other highlights include a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, a live stream with the Minnesota Orchestra, the release of his recording of Christopher Rouse’s Seeing, and recordings of Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra with the Buffalo Philharmonic and JoAnn Falletta.

Orion can be heard on the Naxos, Telos, Bridge, First Hand, Yarlung, and Artek labels. Known for his affinity for chamber music, he performs regularly with violinists Augustin Hadelich, William Hagen, Benjamin Beilman, and James Ehnes; pianists Michael Brown and Shai Wosner; cellist Julie Albers; and the Ariel, Parker, and Pacifica Quartets. In recent seasons, he has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Toronto Symphony, National Arts Centre, Israel Philharmonic, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras.

A native of Ohio, Orion Weiss attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and made his Cleveland Orchestra debut performing Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in 1999. That same year, with less than 24 hours’ notice, he stepped in to replace André Watts for a performance of Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. His list of awards includes the Classical Recording Foundation’s Young Artist of the Year, Gilmore Young Artist Award, an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and more. In 2004, he graduated from The Juilliard School, where he studied with Emanuel Ax.

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Orli Shaham

Orli Shaham – Israel/United States

A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, Orli Shaham has established an impressive international reputation as one of today’s most gifted pianists. Hailed by critics on four continents, Ms. Shaham is in demand for her prodigious skills and admired for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist,” the Chicago Tribune recently referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean” in a performance with the Chicago Symphony, and London’s Guardian said her playing at the Proms was “perfection.”

She has performed with many of the world’s major orchestras and appeared in recital around the globe, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is artistic director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series, Café Ludwig in Costa Mesa, and artistic director of the interactive children’s concert series Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard, which she founded in 2010.

n 2021, Ms. Shaham performed with the Marin, Vancouver, and Reading Symphony Orchestras, and released the second and third volumes of the complete Mozart piano sonatas. Her Mozart recording project also includes volume 1 of the sonatas and her album of piano concertos with the St. Louis Symphony, all of which are part of her discography of a dozen titles on Canary Classics.

Ms. Shaham is a co-host and creative for the national radio program From the Top. She is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is chair of the board of trustees at Kaufman Music Center in New York.

Orli Shaham has been a Steinway Artist since 2003.

 

orlishaham.com

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