Christopher Harding, piano
August 4, 2006
Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Michigan, Christopher Harding has performed internationally and across the United States to enthusiastic acclaim, impressing audiences and critics alike with his substantive interpretations and pianistic mastery.
Mr. Harding has studied with Menahem Pressler and Nelita True. Prior to college, he worked for ten years with Milton Kidd at the American University Department of Performing Arts Preparatory Division, where he was trained in the traditions of Tobias Matthay.
An active and successful competitor, Mr. Harding has taken twenty-five first prizes in national and international competitions. Among his achievements are top prizes in competitions sponsored by the American Matthay Society, the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Saint Louis Symphony, the Santa Barbara Symphony and Esperia Foundation, the Kingsville International Young Performers’ Competitions, and the Grace Welsh Prize for Piano. In 1999, he was awarded the special “Mozart Prize” at the Cleveland International Piano Competition, given for the best performance of a composition by Mozart. Most recently he was a semi-finalist in the Calgary Esther Honens International Piano Competition 2000, one of 27 pianists chosen through worldwide auditions to compete.
Mr. Harding continues to perform with orchestras, frequently. Recent seasons have included engagements with the San Angelo Symphony and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded two solo discs and one chamber music disc for the Brevard Classics Live Performance Series.
Mr. Harding was born in Munich, Germany and raised in Northern Virginia.
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