Recent Alumni Successes

Pianofest alumni are making waves worldwide! Here are just a few of their successes since mid-2024:

Michelle Cann, who first attended Pianofest in 2005 and is now a faculty member, won a Grammy Award last year and has now been nominated for another one.

Longtime Pianofest alumni and 2023 faculty member Orion Weiss performed with the Cleveland Orchestra on short notice in November, playing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with acclaimed violinist Augustin Hadelich and Julia Hagen. The other performers in the all-Beethoven cycle are a who’s who of the world’s great pianists: Garrick Ohlsson, Sir Stephen Hough, and global sensation Yunchan Lim.

Jialin Yao ’23 is on a winning streak: in the last six months alone, he has won prizes at three international competitions and played with orchestras on three continents, including with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra:

• 1st Prize at the Fou T’song Piano Competition, including a performance of Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3 in Boston’s Jordan Hall with the Mercury Orchestra.

• 2nd Prize and Best Chamber Music Prize at the inaugural Málaga City International Piano Competition. 

• President’s Award at the 2024 Seattle International Piano Competition.

Last month at the Orléans International Piano Competition in France, Leo Gevisser ‘22 won 2nd Prize, the Public Prize, the Elliott Carter Prize, and Dutilleux Residency Prize. He is currently on tour in South Africa performing concertos with the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra.

We’re tremendously proud of our wonderful alumni network, and these are just a few highlights.