Sara Daneshpour is a 2013 Laureate of the ProLiance Energy Classical Fellowship Awards of the American Pianists Association. She is the First Prize winner of the XII Concours International de Musique du Maroc (Morocco, 2012), 2nd prize winner of the 2007 William Kapell International Piano Competition, 1st prize and Gold Medal winner of the 2007 International Russian Music Piano Competition, and 1st prize of the 2003 Beethoven Society of America Competition. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music studying under Leon Fleisher, earned her Master's degree from the Juiliiard School studying under Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky, and extensively has studied under the direction of Dr. Oleg Volkov.
Ms. Daneshpour has performed not only in her native city of Washington DC, but also in New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Russia, Germany, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, and Sweden. She has been heard on stages of such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Carnegie Hall in New York and at the Great Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. She has also been featured nationwide on 160 public radio stations, including the venerable WGBH in Boston.
Ms. Daneshpour's performances have earned high accolades of audiences and critics alike. The Washington Post wrote of her performance with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra "...she created transfixing poetry. And she found delightful details in passagework and incidents that other pianists treat as routine." The Baltimore Sun stated that Sara "delivered a powerhouse account of Tchaikovsky's Concerto No.1 producing enough tone for two pianists in the process", while The Mercury News called her performance "...sensational. Strength, finesse, passion; it was all there."
In addition, she has been featured as a soloist on prestigious music series including the Werner Richard Saal concert series in Munich, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Strathmore Hall in Washington, DC, Ventura Festival, The Frederic Chopin Society in St.Paul, Minnesota, The Gnessin School of Music in Moscow, and the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, in which the New York Concert Review wrote,“ she lavished color on oft-nelected line, illuminated subtle beauties, and raged through the storms, always with stunning polish…she exhibits all the requisites for a high voltage career and more: blazing technique, power, expressivity, imagination, and a lovely stage presence.“ Sara Daneshpour has recently joined the Astral Artists roster as a winner of its 2010 National Auditions.
Highlights of the 2012-2013 season included performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Gerard Schwarz in Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No.2 with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Maestro George Hanson, and with Maestro Peter Bay at the Britt Festival in Jaksonville, Oregon. Performances of Mozart's Piano Concerto, No. 20 at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in Maryland, and with Maestro Stephen Simon and the Sinfonietta both in Cape Cod and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 with the Buck's County Symphony with Maestro Gary Fagin. Ms. Daneshpour recently also gave solo recitals at the Musee d'Orsay and returned to Paris for a recital at the Salle Cortot. Other engagements included recitals in Normandy, France, the Vancouver Chopin Society, the Steinway Series at Texas A&M International University, the Chopin Foundation of the United States, and in Cape Cod; Ms. Daneshpour has debuted on Astral's series in the Philadelphia Brahms Festival and has also been featured as concerto soloist on its Rising Stars concerts.
Website: www.saradaneshpour.com/