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Grace Nikae American pianist Grace Nikae has established an international reputation as one of the leading and compelling artists of her generation. Thrilling and captivating audiences and critics alike with her exquisite artistry, blazing virtuosity, and passionate, individual style, Ms. Nikae has been hailed worldwide for her "poetic and fiery" playing and her performances of "superb technique and powerful expressiveness" on concert stages throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. In recent seasons, Ms. Nikae’s touring schedule has brought her in recital to distinguished halls such as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Corcoran Gallery, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, London's Wigmore Hall, and Nagaoka Cultural Center and Matsukata Hall in Japan. Festival appearances include Muskoka Lakes, Silver Bay, Viking, and Kuhmo, and she has performed as soloist with orchestras throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Past season highlights include tours of the US and Europe, including critically acclaimed recital debuts in Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, London, and Chicago, numerous solo tours of southern Japan, as well as the creation of the Grace Nikae Piano Seminar on Japan's Okierabu Island, an intensive course of masterclasses, lectures, performances, and lessons which Ms. Nikae gives to aspiring young pianists, fostering their artistic and cultural vision. An ardent chamber musician, Ms. Nikae frequently collaborates with esteemed artists and with members of leading orchestras, including the Toronto, Boston, and Beijing Orchestras. She is also the founder and artistic director of the Madrid Chamber Players, which makes its inaugural debut in 2006. Renowned for her innovative and diverse programming, whether it be from Bach to Ligeti or from Mozart to Carter, Ms. Nikae’s variety of bold projects challenge and further explore the audience and performer’s connection with the piano solo and chamber repertoire, and is a testament to her commitment towards the continued evolution and development of her art. Future projects in 2006–2007 include performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano in New York, as well as the Piano Revolution Series, four recitals in which Ms. Nikae will explore the solo piano works of 20th century composers (Ligeti, Kurtag, Xenakis, Boulez, Carter, Cage, Crumb, among many others) who have redefined the boundaries of the piano as an instrument. A prizewinner and the highest-ranking American at the 1998 Ibla International Piano Competition in Italy, Ms. Nikae also won the 2000 Artists International Debut Prize, and was presented in her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2001 to critical acclaim. New York Concert Review declared her “a musician able to summon a wonderful modicum of harmonic tension, musical lyricism and architectural coherence”. Her numerous other accolades include the 2005 Hawaii Music Award in Classical Music, first prize in piano at the 2002 Sorantin International Young Artist Competition, the prestigious 1995 Sterling Scholar Award in Music, the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra Scholarship Competition, the Morning Music Club Scholarship Competition, the Mark Nevin Young Piano Scholarship Award, as well as the Paderewski Medal and the Cliburn Family and Liberace Memorial Scholarships from the National Guild of Piano Teachers. Nikae’s debut solo CD, Fantasies, featuring the music of Scriabin, Granados, Falla, and Liszt was released in 2006. Her engaging personality and many talents have been widely recognized by the media. She has been featured in print advertisements in the US, and her performances are frequently broadcast on national and international radio and television, including Spanish TV, Minami-Nihon TV (Japan), KIKU-TV (Hawaii), and WFMT-FM radio and Channel 25 TV (Chicago). Ms. Nikae's belief in the importance of what music can communicate and impart onto people and society leads her to take time in her busy schedule to give masterclasses, lectures, and more informal sessions at conservatories and universities throughout the US, Asia, and Europe. Recent events have included performances on behalf of institutions such as the Embassy of Costa Rica in Washington DC, the Embassy of Spain in The Hague, Instituto Cervantes, The Spanish Institute in New York City, the Kansai-Okierabu Association (Japan), Okierabu China City and Country Government and Board of Education (Japan), Save the Children, the United States Embassy and Consulate General in Spain, and the Franco-American Community Center in Paris, among many others. She is also the co-founder and artistic director of The Renaissance Academy in Hawaii, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to providing academic and artistic enrichment, and to expanding the educational and cultural possibilities of the Hawaii community. Ms. Nikae began her musical education at the age of 2 with her mother. Her first public performance was at the age of three; by the age of four, she was featured on local television performing the Haydn C Major concerto. Her debut as orchestral soloist came at the age of eight with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, and at the age of thirteen, she performed her news-making solo recital debut in Japan. She has since studied and played for such esteemed artists as Constance Keene, Li Mingqiang, Ronald Turini, Robert McDonald, Oleh Krysa, William Purvis, and Vladimir Feltsman. Her teachers included Martin Canin of The Juilliard School and the legendary Alexander Slobodyanik. Reflecting her multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary background and approach, she also sought out a traditional liberal arts education and pursued her undergraduate degree in European history at Columbia University. O1C Performances: Grace Nikae |
