Jiayan Sun

Praised by the New York Times for his “revelatory” performances, pianist Jiayan Sun has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the Chinese and RTÉ (Ireland) National Symphony Orchestras, the Fort Worth and Toledo Symphony Orchestras, and the Toronto and Aspen Concert Orchestras. He has collaborated with prominent conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Stefan Sanderling, Daejin Kim, and the late Leon Fleisher. As a Steinway Artist and a prize winner in the Leeds, Cleveland, Dublin, and Toronto International Piano Competitions, his performances have been broadcast by the BBC, the RTÉ, China Central Television, and classical music radio stations in North America. His solo album Busoni and His Muses, released on Bridge Records in commemoration of Busoni’s centennial of death, garnered critical acclaim on Gramophone and International Piano.

Born in Yantai, China, Mr. Sun received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Yoheved Kaplinsky and Sir Stephen Hough. Currently Associate Professor of Music and the Associate Chair for Performance Activities at Smith College, he has performed Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas and complete sonatas for piano and violin with Elizabeth Chang, in addition to presenting recital series devoted to the works by Schubert and Chopin.