Piano Spheres
A Los Angeles-based organization that supports and encourages the composition and performance of major new works for the piano.
Gerald Clayton searches for honest expression in every note he plays. With harmonic curiosity and critical awareness, he develops musical narratives that unfold as a result of both deliberate searching and chance uncovering.
The NY Times calls Clayton, “A remarkable player, he seems to understand what our ear wants — blooming harmony, melodic improvisations, firm landings — and how to deliver it.”
GRAMMY and Oscar nominated composer/pianist and leader of the legendary Roger Kellaway Cello Quartet.
Emerging Artist Paul Cornish plays music by Black American women composers and his own compositions.
Andreas performs a world premiere by Leo Ornstein and a PS commission by George N. Gianopoulos
Vicki Ray contemplates realizations of Stravinsky's statement "All composition is frozen improvisation."
The iconic composer-pianist Frederic Rzewski was to have given a Piano Spheres recital this coming February in a rare US appearance. Now rescheduled to Saturday April 16th, pianists Ursula Oppens and Lisa Moore join Piano Spheres core artists, Emerging Artists, and Guest Artists from the last 20 years in a celebration of Rzewski's music. An open air, four-hour concert/celebration of his life and legacy on the Colburn Plaza starting at 4:00, includes many of his works for piano.
The following concert at Zipper Hall at 8:00 includes the world premiere of “Suite,” commissioned by Piano Spheres, the west coast premiere of “Amoramaro,” the two-piano version of "Winnsboro Cottonmill Blues” performed by HOCKET, and other works to be announced.
Sadly, HOCKET's performance originally scheduled for May 10th has been postponed until our 2022/23 season. I've you've purchased tickets already we will be in touch with you.
Musical exchange and fantasy form are the inspirations for a program of preludes, fantasies, and other short works by seven composers spanning half a millennium.
with Mark Robson - piano, Kojiro Umezake - shakuhachi. Music by Messiaen and others
Piano Spheres Summer Jazz Series presents pianist Paul Cornish and his trio on July 30, 8PM at Thayer Hall.
Summer Jazz Series
Pianist Vicki Ray goes ELECTRIC, with special guest Piano Spheres artist Aron Kallay. The program includes works by João Pedro Oliveira, Josh Biggs, Ben Phelps, and a tribute to the late composer William Kraft. João Pedro Oliveira: Titanium William Kraft: Requiescat Josh Biggs: Sound Ribbons for Vicki Ray Ben Phelps: Sometimes I Feel Like My […]
Mari Kawamura presents "Ma," an ancient Japanese concept concerning space and time. Music by Takemitsu, Xenakis and the premiere of a new commission by Karen Tanaka.
Transparent Animals presents a collection of 13 pieces for acoustic and digital pianos...
"a masterpiece of restraint..." -Terry Riley. In cooperation with Monday Evening Concerts
HOCKET explores the virtuosity of 2 prepared pianos with a wide variety of materials
Piano Spheres' Stein Resident Artist Dr. William Chapman Nyaho will lead a workshop with pianist and USC Doctoral Student Leonard Hayes at Barrett Hall, Pasadena Conservatory of Music. This workshop will include discussions between Dr. Chapman Nyaho and Mr. Hayes about how to prepare for his March 7th concert at Thayer Hall. Ideas of technique, interpretation and working with a commissioned […]
Dr. Chapman Nyaho is our 1st Leonard Stein Resident Artist
Piano Spheres’ Emeritus Artist Gloria Cheng presents Looking Above, featuring music by and dedicated to beloved friends and collaborators from her remarkable musical career. An internationally renowned concert pianist, Gloria will offer two special rarities: an unpublished work that modern master composer Pierre Boulez wrote for her to perform at her wedding, entitled Court dérives […]
Piano Spheres Core Artists will visit New York for events at Merkin Hall and Roulette
"X" explores ecstasy and ecstatic states in music. Works by Scriabin, Frances White, Alvin Curran and more
Root Progressions features premieres of 6 solo pieces by 6 acclaimed jazz composers with special guests...
Ray-Kallay present "Inflection Point" exploring the rich tapestry of composers who have called California home
An evening that explores liminal states of consciousness with special guest soprano Elissa Johnston
Guest artist Genevieve Feiwen Lee presents an eclectic program that features speaking and singing with keyboards
Equal temperament broke the world. This concert will fix it. Including works by Isaac Schankler, Georg Friedrich Haas, Alexander Elliott Miller, and Ben Johnston.
Praised as a “highly accomplished pianist….with wonderfully rhythmic and robust playing” (New York Concert Review)
A pianist with “impressive technical skill and innate musicality” (Unsuk Chin), Emerging Artist Ashley Zhang is an active solo and chamber musician
HOCKET revives the silent film era with their new project Photoplay Music: New works for Silent Film
A special fundraising event featuring concert works by Hollywood film composers
World renowned guest artist Stephen Drury will celebrate the Ives sesquicentennial two days after Ives’ birthday with a special performance of Ives' complete sonatas for piano, including the monumental "Concord" sonata. 30 for 30 composer Paul Beaudoin composed a piece that “suggests some of the wilder, fantastical adventures into the half-childlike, half fairy-like phantasmal realm” of the Concord Sonata.
"Spielfreude", the joy of playing, describes the sheer physical and emotive pleasure of performing at the keyboard
All PS artists come together for this moving tribute to founding pianist Susan Svrcek composer Rick Lesemann
Colombian American pianist Dr. Andrés Jaramillo is our 24/25 Leonard Stein Resident Artist
Featuring two new large-scale works by important international composers Taylor Brook & Thomas Meadowcroft
“Islands” evoke myriad vivid impressions and captivate our imaginations. As places of stunning beauty, mystery, and isolation, countless associations come with the very mention of the word. Islands conjure a range of emotions and flights of fancy, from images of wild, exotic natural wonders, to metaphorical and spiritual connections. In this program, Piano Spheres’ newest […]
Emerging Artist Thomas Mellan presents Collective Hysteria: The Complete Piano Sonatas of Pierre Boulez. Boulez is synonymous with music of era-defining extremes, showcasing brutal violence and sensual tenderness often in the same breath. What unifies his three pieces on this program is the tremendous virtuosity they demand of the player, and their concern with revolutionizing […]
