Biography
Canadian pianist Lisa Tahara is a soloist, chamber musician, collaborative pianist and teacher currently living in Toronto, Ontario.
Lisa made her orchestral debut with the Burnaby Symphony Orchestra at fifteen. Since then, she has performed with esteemed orchestras across Canada such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Quebec Symphony Orchestra. Further, as the winner of several concerto competitions, she has performed Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto with the Sooke Philharmonic Orchestra and also with the University of Victoria Orchestra. Lisa has also won numerous top prizes in festivals and competitions at the local, provincial and national level, including the Canadian Registered Music Teachers’ Association Competition, the Canadian Concerto Competition and the Canadian Music Competition. Most recently, Lisa was chosen as a finalist in the 2012 Shean Piano Competition and will be competing in Edmonton, Alberta in May 2012.
After obtaining her Bachelors of Music degree at the University of Victoria, Lisa completed her Masters of Music degree with honours in performance at the University of Toronto. Currently, she is undertaking her Doctorate of Musical Arts studies on full-scholarship at the University of Toronto in performance & pedagogy with Drs. Jamie Parker, Henri-Paul Sicsic and Midori Koga. Additionally, Lisa has studied with MayLing Kwok, Dr. Robin Wood, James Olsen and Kirill Bolshakov. Lisa has also performed in masterclasses across Canada, the US and Europe for internationally well-known artists such as Malcolm Bilson, Janina Fialkowska, Richard Goode, Anton Kuerti, Lee Kum-Sing, John Perry, Menahem Pressler, Andras Schiff and Colin Tilney.
As a recipient of the David & Martha Beach scholarship, and a two-time recipient of the Johann Strauss Scholarship, Lisa has had the opportunity to spend three summers studying in Europe; at the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg with Andrzej Jasinski, Robert Levin and Sergio Perticaroli and at the Wiener Musikseminar in Vienna with Rudolph Kehrer. In 2007, Lisa completed a long-term artistic residency at the Banff Centre where she performed with the Penderecki String Quartet. Lisa was also selected to participate in the 2011 Toronto Summer Music Festival, where she had the opportunity to perform in ensembles with renowned guest artists Christopher Costanza and Mark Fewer.
As well as performing solo works, Lisa thoroughly enjoys playing chamber music. She has been a member of an award-winning piano trio and has recently joined with cellist, Nadia Felix, to form the Felix-Tahara Duo. The Felix-Tahara Duo is currently planning its’ inaugural cross-country tour. Lisa is pianist for Toronto’s Contemporary Vespera Ensemble led by Sarah John. Lisa also frequently appears with the Cantala Ensemble led by Nancy Singla. For Theatre Direct’s 2012 production of Sanctuary Song, an opera composed by Abigal Richardson-Schulte, Lisa was the principal orchestral pianist. Most recently, she has been invited to be a part of the collaborative piano internship at the Banff Centre in July 2012.
In addition to her passion for performing, Lisa is equally passionate about teaching and is a group class and private instructor for the University of Toronto Children’s Pedagogy Program. Lisa also regularly attends pedagogy seminars, workshops at the Royal Conservatory of Music and conferences including the 2009 World Piano Pedagogy Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
