LOUISE CHAN
pianist
ABOUT
Pianist Louise Chan, a native of Ottawa, Canada, is a classical pianist, chamber musician, orchestral keyboardist, and music educator. She is a founding member of the Blue Violet Duo with violinist Kate Carter. Their debut album, American Souvenirs, was featured as WFMT 98.7's Album of the Day. The duo has had repeat performances at the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, most recently in January 2022, and they perform frequently in the Chicagoland area. Their second album, Strike, Strum and Stride, was released by Centaur Records in January 2023, and works from this album continue to be featured in programming by WFMT 98.7.
Dr. Chan is dedicated to performing new music; recent performances in her home base of Chicago have included appearances at the Ear Taxi Festival and the George Crumb Festival, and with Fulcrum Point New Music Project and The Zafa Collective. She was the former principal pianist for the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and is a keyboard substitute for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. She has appeared as a soloist with the Music Institute of Chicago Community Orchestra, the Evanston Summer Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
As a music educator, Dr. Chan maintains a busy studio of young and adult piano students at the Music Institute of Chicago. Her students have been prizewinners at local and state competitions. She is a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s College of Examiners, and travels throughout North America as an adjudicator. She has served on the faculties of the Chicago Chamber Music Festival, the Chicago Duo Piano Festival, and Northeastern Illinois University.
Dr. Chan studied with Fernando Laires at the Eastman School of Music and Alan Chow at Northwestern University. Her dissertation, A Guide to the Orchestral Piano Repertoire, is an annotated bibliography of orchestral works with keyboard parts. Additional studies were with John O'Conor, Rita Sloan, and Anne Epperson at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where she was an Orchestral Piano Fellow. She has served as an alternate and extra keyboardist for the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and New World Symphony.
stop-motion video with live recording created in July 2018 - enjoy!