Pianist Jenny Q Chai August 8, 2012

Having recently played her critically acclaimed New York Carnegie Hall debut, pianist Jenny Q Chai has been selected to appear on Chicago’s esteemed Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, held at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Preston Bradley Hall. The program will include Gyorgy Kurtág’s "Quiet Talk with the Devil" and "Les adieux," as well as Robert Schumann’s "Kreisleriana."

Praised by the New York Times' Anthony Tommasini for her "resourceful technique and sensitivity" as well as playing "admirable for its refinement and directness," Chai is an active pianist specializing in contemporary music. Recipient of the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust’s 2011 Pianist/Composer Commissioning Project, first prize winner of the Keys to the Future Contemporary Solo Piano Festival, and recipient of the DAAD Arts and Performance award in 2010, Chai has premiered works by Nils Vigeland, John Slover, Ashley Fu-Tsun Wang, and Scott Wollschleger. Chai has also premiered “Marriage (Mile 58) Section F” from The Road by Frederick Rzewski in Ghent, Belgium, where she was given the Logos Award for the best performance of 2008. Recently, Chai had the privilege of introducing the concept of prepared piano to a Chinese audience, with the world premiere of Mallet Dance by John Slover, in Shanghai Concert Hall. Now splitting her time between the U.S. and China, Chai is a board member of the New York City-based contemporary music organization Ear to Mind, and is founder of FaceArt Music InterNations in Shanghai. Future engagements for Ms. Chai include the National Performing Arts Center in Beijing, and the Oriental Arts Center in Shanghai.