Lauded as one of '16 Incredibly Impressive Students at Princeton University’ by Business Insider, American pianist Edward Leung has performed in concert halls across North America, Europe, and Asia.
In 2019, Edward won First Prize in the Oxford Music Festival and the Audience Prize at the Sheepdrove Intercollegiate Piano Competition. In 2018, he has won First Prizes in the Thomas Harris International Piano Foundation Beethoven Concerto Prize, Watford International Piano Competition, Appelbe Piano Prize of the North London Festival, and the Springboard Brighton and Hove Concerto Competition. Performance highlights of the 2018 – 2019 season include concerto performances with the Filarmonic Orchestra ‘Mihail Jora’ of Bacau in Italy, Music of the Spheres Ensemble in London, and recitals at Newport Music Club and the Oxford Music Festival.
A passionate chamber musician, Edward has collaborated with Viviane Hagner, Robin Ireland, Sibylle Mahni, Charles Neidich, Eckart Runge, Alexey Stadler, Nathaniel Vallois, and Rafal Zambrzycki-Payne. He has appeared at Musicworks Sundays at Kings Place, Hellensmusic Festival, Kinnordy Chamber Music Festival, Krzyzowa Music Festival, Wilhelm Kempff Academy, Music Mountain, Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival, International Keyboard Institute and Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where he was invited to perform at the annual Tanglewood On Parade concert. He is the cofounder of Opus 21, an innovative chamber music collective dedicated to bringing an eclectic repertory of chamber music to Princeton University and beyond.
Edward received a Bachelor of Arts in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs from Princeton University, where he studied piano with Francine Kay. In 2016 - 2017, he was named the inaugural Aske-Princeton International Fellow at The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Hertfordshire, England. He is currently pursuing his Master of Music at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Pascal Nemirovski. He is gratefully supported by the Keyboard Charitable Trust and Talent Unlimited.
Charlie Westhoff was born in 1996 in Sydney, Australia. He studied under the tutelage of Janet Davies at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in the Rising Stars program and Dr Robin Wilson at the Australian National Academy of Music, before receiving a full scholarship to study with Itzhak Rashkovsky at the Royal College of Music, London, thanks to the Ladies of the Soiree D’Or Foundation. Charlie was named Pittwater Young Citizen of the Year for his contribution to the Arts in 2009, gained his Licentiate Diploma in Violin with Distinction in 2011, and was invited to study at the Julliard school.
Charlie performed the Violin soundtrack for the short feature film ‘Reason to Smile’ by Academy Award nominated director Rene Hernandez. In 2012 Charlie won the Wenkart Foundation Junior Violin Award, Alf and Pearl Pollard Award for performance excellence and The Marcus Edwards Prize for Violin, whilst becoming a prize winner in both the Fine Music 2MBS Young Performers Awards and the National Kendall Violin Competition 2013. Charlie won 2nd Prize at the Animato International Violin Competition (2013).
Charlie has performed in concert with the Tin Alley String quartet, New Zealand String Quartet, and Bolt Ensemble. He is a graduate of the Keshet Eilon mastercourse, whilst having receiving lessons and mentorship from (among others) Mischa Maisky, Nicolas Alstaedt, Vadim Gluzman, Vesa Matti Lepanen, Naoko Tanaka, as well as members of the London based Doric String Quartet and Australia’s Goldner String Quartet. He has participated in the Musica Viva Festival and Canberra International Music Festival, and toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2015. Over the past 2 years he has been a featured soloist with the Melbourne Philharmonia Project.
Kumi Matsuo was born in Tokyo, Japan. Winner of the 5th Louisiana International Piano Competition in 2013, she has also won Second Prize at the 75th Music Competition of Japan in 2006, Third Prize at the 22nd Ferrol International Piano Competition in 2008 and First Prize at the 6th Isidor Bajic International Piano Competition in 2012.
Kumi graduated from the Toho Gakuen High School of Music and the Toho Gakuen University of Music in Tokyo. In 2007 she moved to London for her further study at the Royal College of Music where she gained an Artist Diploma and a Master of Music in Performance. Her study was supported by the Charles Napper Award, the Russell Gander Award and the Rohm Music Foundation.
In 2008 Kumi won RCM concerto competition and gave her London debut playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto for Left Hand in Cadogan Hall with RCM Sinfonietta conducted by Peter Stark. In 2009 she performed Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso No.1 with RCM Chamber Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski at the Queen Elisabeth Hall. She also performed Prokofiev’s 3rd Piano Concerto with RCM Symphony Orchestra under Martin André at the Royal College of Music. In 2014 she gave her New York debut at Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall.
Kumi has played solo and chamber music in UK, USA, France, Holland, Poland, Romania, India and Japan and performed as a soloist with orchestras such as Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Galicia Symphony Orchestra, Banatul Symphony Orchestra, Rapides Symphony Orchestra, Constanza Symphony Orchestra and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. She has recently finished the Anthony Saltmarsh Junior Fellow in Accompaniment at the Royal College of Music.
Free concert (retiring collection)