MASNO - Musical Arts Society of New Orleans

06/14/2026

MASNO is delighted to welcome Christopher Harding as a jury member of the 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition.

Pianist Christopher Harding maintains an international presence as a noted teacher and performer. He has given solo, concerto, and chamber music performances in venues as far flung as the Kennedy Center and Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., the IBK and Recital Halls of the Seoul Art Center, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the National Theater Concert Hall in Taipei, the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, and halls and festival appearances in Newfoundland, Israel, Italy, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Romania, Russia, and China. His concerto performances have included concerts with the National Symphony and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestras, the San Angelo and Santa Barbara Symphonies, and the Tokyo City Philharmonic, working with such conductors as Andrew Sewell, Eric Zhou, Taijiro Iimori, Gisele Ben-Dor, Fabio Machetti, Randall Craig Fleisher, John DeMain, Ron Spiegelman, Daniel Alcott, and Darryl One, among others.

Mr. Harding has presented master classes and lecture recitals in universities across the United States and Asia, as well as in Europe, Israel, and Canada. He is a Permanent Guest Professor at the Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China; he has additionally served as a Fulbright Senior Specialist at the Sichuan Conservatory (2008) and Seoul National University (2011) and Ewha Womans’ University (2023). He has taught masterclasses and performed lecture recitals at all the major universities and schools of music in South Korea, and throughout China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.

In addition to serving as Chair of Piano and teaching undergraduate and graduate piano performance and chamber music at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, Mr. Harding also serves on the faculty of the Sicily International Piano Festival and is a regular guest artist and teacher at the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival in Tampa, Florida.

06/12/2026

Join us July 18-26! 🎹💫

Chosen from 240 international auditions, 12 of the world's top emerging pianists will perform at the 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition for over $100,000 in prizes. The competition is proud to debut the world-premiere of "Ancestor Tree" by New Orleans pianist and composer Courtney Bryan and concerto performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in the Final Round.

Held concurrently is the New Orleans Piano Institute & Keyboard Festival presenting masterclasses, performances, and a concerto competition. For more visit, masno.org/noipc

06/11/2026

Can’t wait! 🎹🥇🔥 Thank you, Where Y’at Magazine for this feature on the 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition! Get your tickets today! https://masno.org/noipc/

The 2026 New Orleans International Piano Competition Semifinalists include: Kevin Ahfat (Canada), Wooyoung Cho (South Korea), Shangru Du (China), Yuang Fan (China), Mitsuki Fukuhara (Japan), Miao Gao (China), Evgeny Konnov (Russia), Modan Oyama (Japan), Seiran Tozlian (Russia), Jiacheng Xiong (China...

06/09/2026

The Musical Arts Society of New Orleans is pleased to introduce Sofya Gulyak as a juror for the 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition.

Sofya Gulyak is Associate Professor of Music in piano at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She was previously a piano professor at the Royal College of Music in London.
Born in Kazan, Russia, Gulyak studied at the Kazan State Conservatoire under Elfiya Burnasheva before continuing her studies with Boris Petrushansky at Imola Piano Academy in Italy and Vanessa Latarche at the Royal College of Music in London.

In 2009, Gulyak was awarded first prize and the Princess Mary Gold Medal at the 16th Leeds International PianoCompetition, the first woman to achieve this distinction. Since then, she has appeared internationally to great critical and public acclaim. Other prestigious prizes she has won include first prizes at the Kapell, Maj Lind,Tivoli,Isangyun, and San Marino international piano competitions, second prize (first not awarded) at Busoni, and third prize at the Long–Thibaud–Crespin Competition.

Gulyak has performed in venues including La Scala Theatre in Milan, Herculessaal in Munich, Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau and Salle Pleyel in Paris, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and has played with the London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, and Shanghai Philharmonic.

06/07/2026

In addition to performing as our guest artist, we are excited to have Angele Cheng serve as a juror for the 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition.

Consistently praised for her brilliant technique, tonal beauty, and superb musicianship, Canadian pianist Ms. Cheng is one of her country’s national treasures. In addition to regular guest appearances with virtually every orchestra in Canada, she has performed with the symphonies of Saint Louis, Houston, Indianapolis, Colorado, Utah, San Diego, and Jacksonville, as well as the philharmonic orchestras of Buffalo, Louisiana, Rhode Island, London, Israel, and Minas Gerais in Brazil.

As a recitalist, soloist and chamber musician, Ms. Cheng has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., New York’s 92nd Street Y, and Wigmore Hall in London. A member of the Zukerman Trio and Chamber Players, she has also appeared at Vienna’s Musikverein, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Buenos Aires’ Teatro Colon, Mariinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, and the Sydney Opera House. Festival appearances include Verbier, Edinburgh, Miyazaki, Stars of the White Nights in St. Petersburg, and the George Enescu Festival in Romania.

Ms. Cheng was awarded the Gold Medal at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition and was the first Canadian to win the prestigious Montreal International Piano Competition. She has also been honored with the Canada Council’s coveted Career Development Grant and the Medal of Excellence for outstanding interpretations of Mozart from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

06/05/2026

MASNO is delighted to welcome Alvin Chow as a jury member of the 30th Annual New Orleans International Piano Competition.

Mr. Chow has appeared throughout North America and in Asia as an orchestral soloist and recitalist. In addition, he has performed extensively in duo-piano recitals with his wife, Angela Cheng, and his twin brother, Alan.

Mr. Chow has performed in major concert halls including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Orchestra Hall in Chicago; Weill and Steinway Halls in New York City; and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He has presented as recitalist in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Seattle, Denver, Detroit, and Miami, and has appeared as soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Pan-Asia Symphony in Hong Kong, and the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, among others.

Mr. Chow was the first Fulbright Visiting Artist in Piano at the University of Arkansas, and also taught at the University of Colorado. Mr. Chow has been a member of the artist faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music since 1999, where he currently serves as Chair of the Piano Department. Mr. Chow was named the Ruth Strickland Gardner Professor of Music from 2011-14, and also received Oberlin’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2016.

06/02/2026

MASNO is delighted to welcome Alan Chow as the Chairman of the Jury for the 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition.

A Steinway artist, Mr. Chow has performed in recital and in concert with orchestras in nearly all 50 states. His recitals have brought him to the major music centers including New York (Lincoln Center, Merkin Hall, Steinway Hall), Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago (Symphony Center and Ravinia), Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Seattle, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Miami.

He has won First Prize in the Concert Artists Guild International Competition, the UCLA International Piano Competition, and the Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition. Winner of the Silver Medal and Audience Favorite Prize at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, he was also a prizewinner in the William Kapell International Piano Competition.

Previously having served on the faculty of the University of Arkansas and Northwestern University, Mr Chow is currently Professor of Piano and Chair of the Piano Department at the Eastman School of Music.

05/31/2026

Introducing Courtney Bryan's Ancestor Tree!🎵🎹🎶

Hear the World Premiere of Courtney Bryan’s Ancestor Tree commissioned for the 30th New Orleans International Piano Competition with support from the Edgar “Dooky”Jr. and Leah Chase Family Foundation in loving memory of Edgar “Dooky” Chase III.

Written in honor of the tree in Congo Square while loosely influenced by Gottschalk’s Bamboula, Ancestor Tree will be performed by all 12 Semifinalists in Rounds I and II.

Get your tickets here!🎟️🎟️
https://masno.org/noipc/noipc-tickets/?mc_cid=de090d1e04&mc_eid=f1fb2a4d1f