Art of Piano Public Masterclass: Joanna MacGregor

Joanna MacGregor CBE is one of the world’s most innovative musicians, appearing as a concert pianist, curator and conductor. Head of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and Professor of University of London, Joanna MacGregor was the Artistic Director of Dartington International Summer School & Festival 2014-2019, Artistic Director of the Bath International Music Festival 2006-2012, and curated the multi-arts Deloitte Ignite Festival at the Royal Opera House, as well as Aventures+, an orchestral series for Luxembourg Philharmonie. She runs an annual Summer Piano Festival at the Royal Academy, involving over a hundred young musicians playing core repertoire as well as collaborating with composers, actors, visual artists, writers and filmmakers. Joanna has just been appointed Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Brighton Philharmonic, as it approaches its centenary.

As a solo artist Joanna has performed in over eighty countries and appeared with many eminent conductors – Pierre Boulez, Sir Colin Davis, Valery Gergiev, Sir Simon Rattle and Michael Tilson Thomas amongst them – and orchestras, including the London Symphony and Sydney Symphony orchestras, Chicago, Melbourne and Oslo Philharmonic orchestras, Berlin Symphony Orchestra and Salzburg Camerata. She has premiered many landmark compositions, ranging from Sir Harrison Birtwistle and Django Bates to John Adams and James MacMillan. She performs regularly at major venues throughout the world, including Wigmore Hall, Southbank Centre and Barbican Centre in London, Sydney Opera House, Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. 

An enquiring and innovative artist, pianist Élisabeth Pion leads an imaginative career as a soloist and artistic collaborator. Recent highlights: the release of her first recording with ATMA Classique, her debut with the Orchestre Métropolitain & Kensho Watanabe, as well as obtaining the Bita Cattelan Award at the Concours musical international de Montréal 2024 & the 3rd prize of the 2023 Rio Piano Festival, playing with the Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira & Roberto Tibiriçá. Her second recording, a collaboration with Arion Orchestre Baroque, will be released in June 2024.

Élisabeth is a regular guest artist of many orchestras, such as the Toledo Symphony, the Victoria Symphony, and the Orchestre Classique de Montréal.

Élisabeth has appeared as a recitalist in several major venues, including Wigmore Hall, as well as Weill Recital Hall. She can often be heard on CBC/Radio-Classique and BBC Radio 3.

Élisabeth is an alumna of the Imogen Cooper Trust and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She is the 2022 recipient of the Choquette-Symcox Prize from the Fondation Jeunesses Musicales Canada. 

Élisabeth continues her artistic development with Benedetto Lupo, and benefits from the mentorship of Gabriela Montero.

Her strong interests in literature, writing, composition, repertoire research and Tai Chi nurture her musical practice.

Élisabeth Pion was generously supported by the Repsol Emerging Artists Award.

Canadian musician Susannah Zou is an active solo and chamber performing pianist. She began her musical journey at the age of six and became a regular competitor in festivals and competitions, winning numerous awards and scholarships. As a performer, Susannah has been described as sensitive and spirited. She has held solo recitals across Canada, as well as internationally in Italy, and the Netherlands. She was a national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition of 2023. In 2017, shemade her solo debut in the Crescendo International Music Competition where she claimed the first prize award and had the opportunity to perform at the Weill Concert Hall of Carnegie Hall.

She has attended the Holland International Music Sessions ,Orford Musique, the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Tuckamore Music Festival, as well as the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival. Aside from solo piano, Susannah enjoys collaborating with instrumentalists frequently, and is the co-founding pianist of Duo Avenoir and Trio Hiraeth.

Susannah Zou has recently graduated from the University of Toronto and has completed her Bachelor’s degree in piano performance under the tutelage of Lydia Wong. She is the recipient of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Centennial Scholarship for 2023.

Susannah Zou was generously supported by the George Brough Memorial Endowment.

Described as a “phenomenal talent” by the Atlanta Audio Club, Peruvian pianist Priscila Navarro is the first prize winner of several international competitions, including the Liszt-Garritson International Competition in Baltimore, Maryland, Beethoven Sonata Competition in Tennessee, Chopin International Competition of Texas, Artist Series of Sarasota, Florida, Imola City Awards, Italy, and the Heida Hermanns International Music Competition in Connecticut. Priscila made her Carnegie Hall solo recital debut in 2013 and returned there in 2022 for further concerts. She received a Special Bach prize from Martha Argerich at the International City of Vigo Competition in Spain, being one of five finalists from over 400 participants. Her performances have been streamed on BBC public radio as well as the Medici TV channel.  Besides her busy performance career, Priscila is a passionate pedagogue and has been on the jury at several international competitions, including the Chopin International Competition for Latin American pianists, the Heida Hermanns International Competition, and the Parnassus International Competition. She is also the artistic director and founder of the Parnassus Music Society. In 2022, she received the Christa-Marshall Bach foundation prize at the Leipzig Bach competition. Priscila joined the roster of Astral Artists as a winner of the 2022 competition. 

Priscila Navarro was generously supported by the Heather Edwards Artist Award.

Alona Milner is an Israeli born pianist, an alumnus of the McGill-UdeM piano Vocal residency program supported by the Azrieli Foundation in Montreal, Canada. In September 2024, she will start a Doctor of Music degree at the University of Montreal. Graduated (M.Mus) Cum Laude and Dean’s list from the Buchmann Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University under the guidance of Prof. Tomer Lev. She was an “Excellent Musician” at the IDF.

Working intensively with singers, Alona played the piano at the performance of La Cenerentola by Rossini in a live performance of opera McGill under Giovanni Reggioli. Alona played her recent recital called "La Valse" in Villecroze and Draguignan, (France), and in Tel Aviv in 2023. She played a recital at the Israeli embassy in Paris in 2022.

Alona is a recipient of the Polonsky foundation scholarship to the Aspen Music Festival and school in 2022, studied with Prof. Hung-Kuan Chen (Julliard). She received the Sir Jack Lyons Scholarship for the Arts to study in Banff the art of piano program. She was invited to the Edwin Fischer Summer Academy in Potsdam with Prof. Klaus Hellwig (UdK).

She has been supported by the American Israel Cultural Foundation since 2014 and is a top excelling grant recipient in 2022-2024. She is supported by the Ronen Foundation since 2019.

Alona recently received a generous grant from Villecroze music academy for her project "Dance the Waltz".

Alona Milner was generously supported by the Sir Jack Lyons Scholarship for the Arts.