Ayane Nakajima: Saturday, June 20 at 2:00 p.m.

Program

Maurice Ravel Sonatine 
I. Modéré
II. Mouvement de menuet
III. Animé

Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 31 Op. 110
I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo 
II. Allegro molto 

About Ayane Nakajima: Praised for her “emotional warmth and celestial lyricism” (Elena Vorotko, Keyboard Charitable Trust), pianist Ayane Nakajima enjoys a versatile career as a soloist, collaborator, and chamber musician. Active across the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany, she has appeared in major venues including Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the New World Center.

Ayane’s concert highlights include performances at Klavier Festival Bayreuth, the Minnesota Orchestra’s Summer at Orchestra Hall, Lake District Summer Music, and the London Song Festival. Her 2026 season features a recital debut in Los Angeles, radio debuts across Europe, and a summer spent as a 2026 Marlboro Music Festival Artist.

Deeply committed to championing the voices of living composers, Ayane is passionate about bringing contemporary works into dialogue with the classical canon. She has premiered works both as a répétiteur and soloist for composers including Daniel Zlatkin, Thordur Magnusson, and Eunike Tanzil, among others.

She is a prizewinner in competitions including Pianale, YoungArts, the International Keyboard Odyssiad, and Young Texas Artists. Additional accolades include her nomination as a 2019 U.S. Presidential Scholar, the 2023 Louis Sudler Prize in the Arts from Rice University, and First Prize in the 2024 Royal College of Music Concerto Competition. She has also participated in masterclasses with distinguished artists such as Jeremy Denk, Dina Yoffe, Akiko Ebi, Uta Weyand, Ronan O’Hora, Caroline Hong, Elena Levit, and Marina Lomazov.

A devoted song pianist and chamber musician, she has won top prizes at the Young Musicians’ Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Competition, as well as pianist prizes at the AESS Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition and the RCM Brooks Van der Pump Competition. She is the pianist of the recently formed Trio Auri (with violinist Mee-Hyun Esther Park and cellist Lily Dai) and is a frequent recital partner of mezzo-soprano Lily Mo Browne.

Growing up in New York City, Ayane began her piano studies at the age of three with Chaim Freiberg at the Kaufman Music Center. From ages six to seventeen, she studied with Dr. Hiromi Fukuda and graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Jon Kimura Parker and later graduated with distinction from her postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music, where she studied with Danny Driver.

She is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with Ronan O’Hora, Charles Owen, and Bretton Brown. Through her artistry, Ayane strives to bring people together by curating meaningful and colorful performances. In addition to her classical work, she enjoys collaborating in musical theatre, jazz, and film music.