Philharmonia Northwest, Concert I October 10, 2010

Soloist: Byron Schenkman, piano

W. Mozart - Idomeneo Overture
L. Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 1
R. Vaughan Williams - Job: A Masque for Dancing

Pianist Byron Schenkman is founding pianist of the Mira Trio, which made its debut in April of 2008. Previously artistic director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, he received the Erwin Bodky Award for "outstanding achievement" by the Cambridge Society for Early Music in 1999. Since 2001 he has been performing primarily as a modern pianist, including solo recitals in Boston, Peterborough, Seattle, Vancouver, Winston-Salem, and on a Chilean tour sponsored by Partners of the Americas. He has also appeared as guest pianist with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston, the Daedalus Quartet, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and Philharmonia Northwest. Schenkman also greatly enjoys teaching about music. His master classes on 18th-century performance, informal lecture-recitals, and lively pre-concert talks are always enthusiastically received. In 2006 Schenkman was voted "Best Classical Instrumentalist" by the readers of the Seattle Weekly. His CD of Haydn Piano Sonatas has been acclaimed for its "elegance, wit, and refinement" (American Record Guide), "imaginative, cleanly articulated form" (Seattle Times), and "astonishing sense of humor" (All Music Guide). Schenkman is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and received the Master of Music degree with honors in performance from the Indiana University School of Music.

Official Website: http://www.philharmonianw.org/