HENRI SIGFRIDSSON

Henri Sigfridsson, born in Turku, Finland (1974), winner of the Second Prize of the Zurich Geza Anda Piano competition 2000, not only impressed the Jury under the chairmanship of Vladimir Ashkenazy, he won the hearts of many members of the public who attended the final concert in the Zurich Tonhalle, and he walked off with the Geza Anda Audience Prize. In 2005 he won the First Prize at the Beethoven International Piano Competition in Bonn, where he got the Audience Prize and Chamber Music Prize as well.

He began studying with Savy Nordgren at the Turku Conservatory and later at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Prof. Erik T. Tawaststjerna). He completed his studies at the Musikhochschule Köln with the highest distinction (Prof. Pavel Gililov). 1995-97 he studied at the Franz Liszt Musikhochschule in Weimar (Prof. Lazar Berman) as well.

Besides of the Geza Anda Competition Henri Sigfridsson was awarded the renowned ABOA Culture Prize in Finland, first prizes at the 1994 International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar and at the 1995 “Nordic Soloist Competition”.

As a soloist Sigfridsson has played with the leading Finnish orchestras and numerous orchestras in Europe, including the MDR Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonics, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Camerata Salzburg under the baton of prestigious conductors such as Georg Alexander Albrecht, Vladimir Askenazy, Alexander Lazarev, Beat Furrer, Dennis Russel Davies, Lawrence Foster, Howard Shelley, Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach.

He has made notable debuts at the Bayreuth Music Festival, the Ruhr Piano Festival, Wigmore Hall London, all over Europe and the US (New York, Chicago and at the Ravinia Festival). Since 2000 Henri Sigfridsson has been regularly invited to Japan. Sigfridsson performed at very prestigious festivals like the Augsburg Mozart Week, the St. Petersburg Musical Olympus Festival, the Krakow Piano Festival, the Heidelberg Festival, the Kissinger Sommer Festival, the Interlaken Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Davos Festival, the Styriarte Festival, the Lockenhaus Festival and the Salzburg Festival. And since 2006 he has been invited as a Jury to Liszt Piano Competition.

Henri Sigfridsson feels a very deep commitment to chamber music. He appeared with Leonidas Kavakos, Gidon Kremer, Ivry Gitlis, Mischa Maisky, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Sol Gabetta, Johannes Moser to name a few.

Henri Sigfridsson has a number of recordings including the Piano Concertos of F.X. Mozart. And for the memorable year of Sibelius, he released Sibelius Piano Transcriptions. In addition the Piano Concertos no. 2 and no. 3 of Rachmaninov have been released with Hänssler Classic.

2008-2009 Henri Sigfridsson had a professorship at the Graz University for Music and Dramatic Arts and 2010 – 2012 at the Musikhochschule “Hans Eisler” in Berlin. In 2011 he was appointed Professor in Essen Folkwang University.

JAN JIRACEK VON ARNIM

Born into a family of musicians, pianist Jan Gottlieb Jiracek von Arnim was described by BBC Music Magazine as one of the leading pianists of his generation. A top prize winner at the Busoni Competition (Italy) and Maria Canals Competition (Spain), Jan Jiracek von Arnim was one of the winners of the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (USA). He regularly performs in musical centers such as the Musikverein Vienna, Philharmonie Berlin, Suntory Hall Tokyo, and others.

He was appointed professor for piano at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts in 2001, making him the youngest tenured professor in the history of that school.

His students are prizewinners of major international piano competitions, e.g. in 2021 first prize winner at “Géza Anda” (Switzerland), 2020 first prize winner at “Unisa” (South Africa), 2019 first prize winner of the “Top of the World” (Norway) and Tucumán International Piano Competition (Argentina), 2018 first prize at the “Maria Canals Barcelona”.

Jan Jiracek von Arnim is currently guest professor at the Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima (Japan) and at the China Conservatory in Beijing. He was visiting professor at Yale University School of Music in 2022 – 2023.

He gives master classes on a regular basis in North America, Asia and Europe. From 2017 – 2023, he was teaching the famous annual “Beethovenkurs” as successor to legendary pianist Wilhelm Kempff at his “Casa Orfeo” in Positano, Italy, teaching selected international piano talents on the German and Austrian traditions of Beethoven interpretation.

Upcoming projects include performances and teaching activities at the 2024 summer academy of Mozarteum Salzburg, 2024 Chopin Festival in Duszniki, Poland, the 2024 Tianjin Juilliard Piano Festival in China, the 2024 International Piano Festival in Hangzhou China, as well as several masterclasses in Japan.

Mr. Jiracek von Arnim is frequently invited as a judge at international piano competitions, e.g. the “Hamamatsu International Piano Competition” in Japan, the “Busoni International Piano Competition” in Italy, and the “Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for young musicians”, and in 2024 at the “Montréal International Piano Competition” and the “China International Music Competition” in Beijing.

Since 2011, he is the Artistic Director and Chairman of the “International Beethoven Piano Competition Vienna”, one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world.

His biography on Franz Liszt (Residenz Verlag, Austria) has been described as “the very best Liszt biography” by the renowned newspaper DIE PRESSE, Austria.

Jan Jiracek von Arnim is a scholarship holder of prestigious foundations, such as the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes”. He was named “Paul Harris Fellow” of Rotary Foundation in 2020. He is also honorary citizen of Fredericksburg, Texas (USA).

TINUS BOTHA

Tinus Botha completed his BMus in performing arts at the University of Pretoria, where he was a student of Joseph Stanford. In 1999 he was chosen as a fellow of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, where he studied with renowned piano professor Jerome Lowenthal over the (US) summer months. A number of scholarships (among them the DJ Roode Overseas Scholarship from Unisa) enabled him to continue his studies at the Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, where he obtained a master’s degree under the guidance of José Feghali and Harold Martina. Upon his return to South Africa, he enrolled for a Doctor of Music degree at the University of Pretoria, and graduated in 2008. 

Tinus has received several scholarships and prizes, including the silver medal at the Hennie Joubert National Piano Competition in Wellington, the UNISA South African Music Scholarship, the D.J. Roode Overseas Scholarship and the Gertrude Buchanan Prize. He has received institutional awards from the NWU for excellence in creative outputs on six separate occasions. His performances as soloist, collaborator and chamber musician have taken him to many cities in South Africa, the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom. His recent recordings of Romantic character pieces and selections from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier are regularly broadcast on Fine Music Radio.

He is the co-president of the World Association of Piano Teachers (South Africa), and the former editor (2019-2022) of The South African Music Teacher.  His essays have been featured in popular magazines such as Musicus, The SAMT, The Piano Journal, Piano Magazine, and Clavier Companion. He is regularly invited to be on the panel of adjudicators for several prominent music competitions in South Africa, and serves as external examiner for UP, Wits, UCT, US, and RU. Tinus is currently associate professor at the NWU School of Music in Potchefstroom.

FRANCOIS DU TOIT

Acknowledged as one of South Africa’s leading concert pianists and musicians, FRANÇOIS DU TOIT is an Associate Professor of Piano and Head of Practical Studies and Chamber Music at the University of Cape Town.  He received tuition in South Africa with Merryl Preston and Laura Searle and with Arie Vardi and Bernd Goetzke in Germany.

During his period of study, he distinguished himself in several international competitions, taking top prizes in Hannover, Rotterdam and Athens.

He has over 40 concertos in his repertoire, ranging from Bach to Scharwenka and has also performed the concerto premieres of South African composers, Hendrik Hofmeyr and Adrian More, collaborating with conductors including Bernhard Gueller, Omri Hadari, Alun Francis, Thomas Sanderling, Piero Gambo, Arjan Tien and Alexander Lazarev.  

Francois recorded all five Beethoven piano concertos with the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Victor Yampolsky for which he received the Creative Works Award from UCT. In 2017 the Cape Tercentenary Foundation awarded him the Molteno medal for his contribution to the arts in Cape Town.

CATHERINE FOXCROFT

Catherine Foxcroft is Associate Professor (Piano, Music Psychology) and former HOD (2016 – 2022) at the Department of Music and Musicology, Rhodes University. She is the recipient of several awards at Rhodes University, including the VC’s Senior Distinguished Teaching Award (2015), Research Committee Grants (2023; 2024) and the 20-year Long Service award (2023).  In addition, she is the recipient of UNISA UPLM Overseas scholarship (1991), the UCT Jules Kramer PG scholarship (1991) and a UNISA Teaching award (2012). As an undergraduate student of Laura Searle at UCT, she won prizes in the national SABC, ATKV and UNISA competitions and performed as soloist with all the South African orchestras. She studied with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule fur Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover (HMTMH) in Germany from 1991 – 2002, where she completed her MMus and Konzertdiplom (postgraduate performance diploma) and was a semi-finalist and finalist at international competitions (Germany, Greece, Czech Republic, USA, and Italy). In 2014, her academic studies concluded with the conferral of the DMus (Performing Arts) degree by the University of Pretoria. Catherine combines a vibrant career in music as soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue, and researcher. She has performed frequently as a concerto soloist and solo recitalist and is an acclaimed chamber musician. Recent international solo performances include recitals in Birmingham Alabama, USA (2023) and Serbia (2022) and upcoming recitals include appearances in Spain and Serbia in 2024. Passionate about bringing new works by contemporary South African composers to the public arena, her recital programmes feature piano compositions such as Isiko and Umdlalo Emlanjeni (Bongani Ndodana-Breen), Jazz Impromptus (Alexander Johnson) as well as piano quintets Residue (Jan Hendrik Harley) and most recently SAFIKA: Three Tales of African Migration by Ndodana-Breen in collaboration with the Odeion String Quartet.  In 2001 and 2004, she gave solo recitals on board the Maxim Gorky, toured South Africa, Ireland and Germany with the Chameleon Trio (oboe/flute, bassoon, piano). She has recorded for the SABC, Radio Telifis (Ireland), Nord Deutsche Radio and the West Deutsche Radio (Germany). Her four CD recordings (In Concert, Recital, Beethoven 3rd Concerto, A Portrait) and her live concert recordings are broadcast frequently on FMR and SAfm in South Africa. Catherine is frequently invited to adjudicate national music competitions and has been on the faculty of the biennial Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium since 2006. In 2021, she was featured on Classic FM 1027 People of Note, a podcast series featuring prominent South African musicians. Catherine is the Creative Director of the World Piano Teachers Association. 

PIETER GROBLER

Pieter Grobler is an Associate Professor of Piano at Stellenbosch University, where he lectures in piano performance, chamber music, vocal accompaniment, and repertoire studies. His interests in postgraduate supervision have centered around topics in analysis, pedagogy, repertoire studies and historiography as applicable to practical musicianship, all of which informs his teaching.  Pieter Grobler regularly acts as adjudicator and examiner throughout South Africa and is the organiser and chairman of the jury for the Hennie Joubert Piano Competition, held bi-annually as part of the Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium.  Pieter has served as head of the music department at Stellenbosch University.  

He completed his undergraduate studies with Joseph Stanford at the University of Pretoria and postgraduate studies with Joseph Banowetz at the University of North Texas in the USA, where he completed the MM and DMA piano performance degrees.  

Grobler, has been described as a performer with “finesse, sensitivity and a flawless sense of the classical style”. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician all over South Africa, in the USA, Canada, China and Bulgaria.  To date he has given numerous South African premieres of works, the most noteworthy being Alexander Johnson’s Piano Concerto Nr 2, as well as 3 Incantations for Piano (dedicated to him), Peter Klatzow’s Sonata for Cello and Piano with Peter Martens, and Bongani Ndodana-Breen’s Safika.  As an avid Lied collaborator, a recent recital together with mezzo-soprano, Minette du Toit Pearce was awarded a prize for best performance at the 2023 Woordfees arts festival in Stellenbosch.

LUIS MAGALHÃES

Described as possessing a “wonderfully full sound” (American Record Guide) and a “polished, refined technique” (Allmusic.com), Luis Magalhães has achieved critical acclaim as both a soloist and a chamber musician. Born in Portugal and currently residing in Stellenbosch, South Africa, Luis’s career as a pianist displays the cosmopolitanism typical of successful 21st century musicianship. Luis has played extensively across Europe with recent engagements in Germany, Austria, his native Portugal, Switzerland, amongst others. Beyond Europe, he has appeared on stages in Brazil, South Africa, China, Japan, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and on numerous occasions, the United States.

Luis is active as a studio musician, and has collaborated with many remarkable recording artists including Frank Stadler (violin), Daniel Rowland (violin), Madeline Adkins (violin), Priya Mitchell (violin), Gareth Lubbe (viola), Julian Arp (cello) Peter Martens (cello), and James Austin Smith (oboe). The recording with Martens, featuring the complete cello sonatas of L. v. Beethoven, was awarded a coveted South African Music Award (SAMA) in 2011, while both violin recordings have received glowing reviews in The Strad. From 2000 to 2021 he formed part of TwoPianists Piano Duo and released four critically acclaimed CDs. This collaboration with the pianist Nina Schumann has been compared to the celebrated Ashkenazy-Previn and Argerich-Freire duos (American Record Guide). October 2022, Luis was appointed Artist in Residence at Theatro Circo, Braga – Portugal, until end 2023.

Luis was awarded a DMus from the University of Cape Town in 2011, and currently holds an Associate Professorship at the University of Stellenbosch. Luis has also given extensive masterclass tuition including lessons at New York’s fabled Juilliard School and numerous universities across Europe, Asia and the United States. As an expert pianist and educator, Luis has also served in the jury of many competitions including the prestigious Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for Young Musicians (2012). Luis is a Yamaha International Artist.

MALCOLM NAY

MALCOLM NAY is widely regarded as one of the finest chamber pianists and accompanists in South Africa. After graduating with a BMus from Wits University where he studied with Pauline Nossel and Isabella Stengel, he travelled on scholarships to America, where he studied with Bela Siki. As a chamber musician, his repertoire includes most of the important works of the major composers, and he has taken part in a series of recitals with the violinist, Zanta Hofmeyr, featuring all ten of Beethoven’s violin sonatas, Brahms’ violin sonatas and piano trios, as well as works by Dvořák and Rachmaninov amongst many others. He has performed the complete works of Prokofiev for violin and piano and has also given several recitals with Sibongile Khumalo. He is a member of both the Musaion Piano Trio and the Hemanay Flute Trio – leading ensemble groups in South Africa. Recent performances with the Hemanay trio include the world premiere of The Cattle have gone astray by Hans Hussein in 2000 in Columbus, Ohio, and the premiere of Kevin Volans’ Piano Trio in 2003. With the Musaion Trio he gave recitals at the Grachten Festival in Holland, in the Rachmaninov Festival at Stellenbosch University, and at the Grahamstown Festival – all in 2003. He regularly accompanies international artists on their South African tours, among them: the French violinist David Grimal (2000), the Hungarian violinists Barnabis Keleman and Katalin Kokas (2001), and the Russian cellist Suran Bagratoni (2002). As a soloist, he has appeared with most of South Africa’s major orchestras: he is remembered especially for performances, in Gauteng, of the Mozart concertos, which he conducted from the keyboard. Malcolm Nay is also a highly regarded recitalist, and has given distinguished solo recitals at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Arts Gencor Gallery; at the Durban Music Society; at the Wits Great Hall for the Johannesburg Music Society; at the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and at both UJ and the Wits Atrium. Internationally, he has taken part in the National Flute Association World Convention, and the Internationale Stichting Masterclasses at Appeldoorn, Holland. He is currently Associate Professor at WitsMusic, Wits School of Arts (WSOA).

MARIO NEL

Mario Nell is currently associate-professor and the Chair of the Music Department at Stellenbosch University. He studied at the Universities of Port Elizabeth and Stellenbosch before he completed his Master’s degree at the University of Cape Town and a PhD at the University of Stellenbosch. From 1999-2001 he furthered his studies at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany. From 2006-2007 he also obtained a Nachdiplom at the Zurich University of the Arts in Switzerland where his main focus was on historical performance practice. 

He won first prizes in all the major music competitions in South Africa, including the National Youth Music-, ATKV Prelude and Forte-, Mabel Quick-, Oude Meester- and Unisa Overseas Music Competitions. During his periods of study abroad he also distinguished himself in several important international competitions including a first prize at the Calgary International Competition with performances in Germany and Hong Kong.

Since he made his debut with the SABC Orchestra in 1993, he has appeared as soloist with all the major orchestras in South Africa. Since 1999 he gave recitals in Germany, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy, England and South Korea. 

He is an active teacher and his students have been the overall winners of all the major music competitions in South Africa, including the Sanlam National Music-, Hubert van der Spuy National Music-, Artscape National Youth Music-, Johann Vos Piano-, Artstrust National Piano-, Hennie Joubert Piano-, Samro Overseas-, Grahamstown National-, Unisa National Organ-, ATKV Muziq- and Unisa Overseas Music Bursary Competitions. He is often invited to give masterclasses, workshops and as juror for music competitions and serves as examiner for Unisa music examinations.

SUSAN PATTERSON-JONES

Sue Paterson-Jones studied at the University of Cape Town under Lamar Crowson and Albie van Schalkwyk where she obtained her MMus in Performance cum laude. Her research at the time focused on the application of the Alexander Technique to piano playing and she attended a number of workshops with Nelly Ben Or at the Guildhall School of Music. In 1998 she was awarded a scholarship to study piano under Vladimir Viardo at the University of North Texas, during which time she was in demand both as an accompanist and a vocal coach. On her return to South Africa, Sue started a private teaching studio. She has nurtured a dedicated student body of talented young performers who have excelled across many platforms in South Africa, winning prizes at national level and performing in high profile concerts, concerto festivals and chamber festivals. Last year she started a series of teacher training workshops in recognition of a need for teacher enrichment and collaboration. 

Her interest in pedagogy and more specifically in the building of a healthy technique led her to the Taubman approach. For the past seven years she has received intensive training in this comprehensive system of coordinate movement. She has travelled to the USA many times to attend symposiums and workshops. At the 2019 symposium in Portland, Oregon she assisted in their teaching program as a part of her certification process and in 2022, she was invited to talk on the Taubman approach at the Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium. 

As a result of her training she has developed a deep understanding of the systems involved in building a healthy, effective technique as well as the retraining necessary to help pianists recover from use-related injury such as tendonitis. Sue performs regularly in various chamber groups and she runs the popular Old School House Chamber Concert series in Cape Town. She is invited regularly to act as an examiner and adjudicator in the Western Cape.

MEGAN-GEOFFREY PRINS

Megan-Geoffrey Prins, from Riversdale, South Africa, has performed as soloist and collaborative artist in North America, Europe, Africa, and Hong Kong. Prins featured in various local and international piano competitions, including the Honens International Piano Competition, the Hong Kong International Piano Competition, the UNISA National and International Piano Competitions, and the Midwest International Piano Competition. Prins made his concerto debut at the age of 11. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras in Germany, the USA, Botswana, and South Africa. His performances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 and 3 were praised by German and South African critics for “technical precision,” “artistic expressivity,” and “transcendent” interpretation. In 2019, Prins was named the Standard Bank Young Artist for Music. He was included in the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans list in 2021. During Stellenbosch University’s centennial celebrations, Prins was featured as one of the hundred most notable graduates from the institution.

Prins currently serves as full-time piano lecturer on the faculty of the University of Pretoria: School of the Arts. He pursued postgraduate studies with Antonio Pompa-Baldi at the Cleveland Institute of Music where he was awarded the Sadie Zellen Piano Prize, the Arthur Loesser Memorial Prize, and the Maurice and Judith Kaplow Prize for Uncommon Creativity. He received a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Local achievements include first prizes at the UNISA 120th Anniversary Competition, the inaugural Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival Competition, the 5th UNISA National Piano Competition, the 2016 Muziq Instrumental Competition, and the 2017 SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition. He has been nominated for and won numerous local festival awards including a Woordtrofees for best instrumental classical music production at the 2023 Toyota SU Woordfees and a KKNK Kanna award for best upcoming artist in 2009.

TESSA RHOODIE

Tessa Rhoodie obtains the B Mus, B Mus Hons, and M Mus degrees at the
University of Potchefstroom and the D Mus (Performance) degree at the University
of Pretoria.
She received the following Performer’s Licentiates in Piano with Distinction:
Licentiate of the Trinity College of Music in London; Licentiate of the Associated
Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London and a Performer’s Licentiate of the
University of South Africa (UNISA). Between 1987 and 1992 she wins the piano
category of several National competitions, such as the KUESTA and ATKV Forte
competitions. She annually receives full scholarships from the FAK throughout her
academic career and wins the Nina Barry UNISA bursary for overseas study. In 2000
she received an award for her book on Piano tuition from the National Arts Council.
She wrote several articles on her research focus areas “Piano methodology” and
“Aural training” for “Samus”,“The South African music teacher” and “Musicus”. In
2019 she received a grant from the University of Pretoria and completed the project
on “Piano foundation technique in animation” in 2020.
As solo pianist, she recently recorded all Chopin Nocturnes. She performs as official
accompanist for National and International competitions. She adjudicates and chairs
several national competitions (Artscape, Phillip Moore, Musiq, Unisa). She is on the
panel of examiners for Unisa. She was part of the panel of 5 compiling the latest
piano syllabus for Unisa. She receives master classes from acclaimed pianists such
as Stephen de Grootte, Abbey Simon, Karl-Heinz Kammerling, Lazar Berman, and
Jan Wijn. Several of her students were 1st prize winners at National competitions
and were invited to auditions at International tertiary institutions globally.
Currently, she is a full-time senior lecturer at the School of the Arts’ Music
Department at the University of Pretoria, lecturing Piano, Aural training, Piano
methodology, and Chamber music.

NINA SCHUMANN

Nina Schumann was born into a musical family and received her early music tuition from Rona Rupert and Lamar Crowson. Nina‘s first appearance with an orchestra was at the age of 15, and her talent captured the attention of the public when she won the Fifth National Music Competition for high school pupils in 1988. She went on to win the Oude Meester Music Prize (1989), the Forte Competition (1990), and during 1991 both the Wooltru Scholarship and the Adcock-Ingram Music Prize. She has over 140 concerto performances with orchestras in South Africa, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Armenia and the U.S.A. to her credit, and some 40 concertos in her repertoire.

In 1993 Ms Schumann won the SAMRO Overseas Scholarship Competition and was awarded the Jules Kramer and Harry Crossley Bursaries for Overseas Study by the University of Cape Town. She crowned these prizes by winning the sought-after SABC Music Prize as well as the Oude Meester National Chamber Music Competition. International prizes followed: she won the prizes for the Best South African Pianist in the 1993 UNISA International Piano Competition, Finalist and Special Prize Winner at the Shreveport Concerto Competition (1996) and Third Prize in the Casablanca International Piano Competition (1997).

After completing her MMus at UCLA, Nina enrolled for the Doctorate of Music at the University of North Texas under the tutelage of Van Cliburn-winner, Vladimir Viardo. She received several academic prizes: Dean‘s Medal (UCT), Best Performer (UCLA), Best Performer (UNT), Best Pianist (UNT) and Best Doctoral Student (UNT).

Following her appointment as Associate Professor and Head of Piano at the University of Stellenbosch in 1999, Nina transferred her Doctorate to UCT from which she graduated in 2005. In 2009 she was awarded the UCT Rector‘s Award for Excellence in recognition of contribution to the music field.

Solo-career and academic life aside, Nina formed an internationally recognized duo with Luis Magalhaes. Their CDs have received rave reviews from international publications such as Diapason, International Record Review, Allmusic.com and American Record Guide. Nina also received the Their own record label, TwoPianists, is distributed worldwide by Naxos, German Critics Choice Award for Shakespeare Inspired, in collaboration with mezzo-soprano Michelle Breedt. She has twice been nominated for a SAMA and twice for a Fïesta Award. A dedicated teacher, Nina gave master classes at institutions such as the Juilliard School of Music and she has performed in Wigmore Hall and the Zurich Tonhalle.

Since her diagnosis with breast cancer and focal dystonia in 2012 and Parkinson’s Disease in 2018, she has publicly discussed her condition and actively sought to assist other musicians with similar challenges.