Dr. Emiko Edwards, Pianist/Teaching Artist

Described as “dazzling” and “scintillating” (Classical Source) and lauded for her “beautiful singing lines” and performances filled with “drama and energy” (Joan Tower), pianist Emiko Edwards continues to captivate audiences with her sincere musical interpretations and wide variety of tonal color. Edwards’s international performing career has taken her across North America, Europe, and Asia, where she has had the pleasure of appearing in the Gijon International Piano Festival, Banff Summer Music Festival, and Barbican Centre’s Sound Unbound Festival, as well as in major concert venues such as Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall), Merkin Concert Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Milton Court Concert Hall. A champion of modern music and composers of our day, Edwards holds a number of BBC credits to her name. Her performances of works by Henryk Gorecki and Richard Rodney Bennett have received international acclaim and have all been recorded for and broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Additional highlights include the Philadelphia premier of the Joan Tower Piano Concerto (Homage to Beethoven) and the American premier of an original composition by Karen Lefrak at the David H. Koch Theater in collaboration with members of the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Equally at home with both modern and standard repertoire, concerto engagements include those with the Guildhall Brass Ensemble, Cambridge Graduate Orchestra, Bravura Philharmonic, Temple University Symphony, Manalapan Battleground Symphony, New Sussex Symphony, and Westfield Symphony Orchestras. Passionate about cultivating the next generation of musicians, Edwards is in high demand as both an educator and adjudicator. She has taught and mentored students at Temple University and The Juilliard School, and currently teaches piano performance and chamber music at Saint Joseph’s University. She is also head of the piano department at Luzerne Music Center. A summer music program for bourgeoning young musicians, Luzerne regularly hosts world-renown guest artists and composers such as Midori, Leonard Slatkin, Bruce Brubeck, John Corigliano, George Crumb, and Joan Tower. Edwards is a graduate of The Juilliard School, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Temple University.