Jeffrey LaDeur is known for his “delicate keyboard touch and rich expressivity” (San Francisco Chronicle) and playing described as “deeply moving, probing, felt entirely in the moment” (Eduard Laurel) Much sought after for his rare blend of insight, spontaneity, and approachable, communicative stage presence, Jeffrey has captured the hearts and minds of audiences from the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall to San Francisco Jazz Center and the Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society.
Having inherited a rich tradition of pianism and interpretation from Annie Sherter, student of Vlado Perlemuter and Alfred Cortot, LaDeur began in 2015 an in-depth survey of Debussy’s complete solo piano music, curated amongst his musical influences and inspirations. This work culminated in LaDeur’s Carnegie Hall debut recital on the centennial of Debussy’s death, as well as his debut solo album, The Unbroken Line, released on MSR Classics and hailed as “a masterpiece of understatement, simplicity, and ‘old school’ chord-playing where every note sings out with meaning” (Gramophone). LaDeur maintains a repertoire of over forty concerti and has performed with conductors including George Cleve, Michael Morgan, Barbara Day Turner, Lawrence Golan, and Neil Varon. The 2018-2019 season includes Brahms’ Concerto in B-Flat Major Op.83 with the Cambrian Symphony, the Totentanz by Liszt with the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, and Chopin’s Concerto in F Minor Op.21 with Symphonia Caritas.
Passionate about chamber music, LaDeur was a founding member of the Delphi Trio and served as the Trio’s pianist for a decade. Pulitzer Prize winning composer William Bolcom dedicated his first piano trio to the ensemble, and the world premiere recording appears on Triptych (MSR 1674) along with trios by Beethoven and Brahms. Independently, LaDeur has collaborated with artists such as Robert Mann, Bonnie Hampton, Geoff Nuttall, Ian Swensen, Anne Akiko Meyers, Toby Appel, David Requiro, and the Alexander, Telegraph, and Afiara Quartets. With mezzo soprano Kindra Scharich he recently recorded To My Distant Beloved, an album exploring the relationship Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben and his epic Fantasy for Solo Piano, Op. 17, to be released on MSR Classics spring of 2020.
Dedicated to the principle that solo pianists thrive together, rather than as competitors, Jeffrey founded New Piano Collective, an artistic alliance of pianists, dedicated to uniquely personal artistry, collaboration, and ground-breaking programming. In 2017, LaDeur expanded the Collective and founded the San Francisco International Piano Festival, now in its third year, for which he serves as artistic director. The festival has quickly become of the most exciting and engaging music festivals in the country.
LaDeur holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music in piano performance and chamber music, respectively. Jeffrey counts among his teachers Mark Edwards, Douglas Humpherys, Yoshikazu Nagai, and Robert McDonald.
Mezzo Soprano Kindra Scharich has been praised by The San Francisco Chronicle for her "exuberant vitality", "fearless technical precision", "deep-rooted pathos" and "irrepressible musical splendor." As a dedicated recitalist, she has performed over 200 art songs in 12 languages and given solo recitals at the The American Composer's Forum, La Jolla Athenaeum, The Wagner Society, Lieder Alive and the acclaimed Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro. In 2018 Ms. Scharich sang the U.S. Premiere of new songs of Anno Schreier as a co-collaboration between Deutsche Oper Berlin and Lieder Alive. She also continued her partnership with Brazilian pianist Ricardo Ballestero in performing and recording the non-Portuguese repertoire of the great Brazilian composer Alberto Nepomuceno (Nepomuceno and his muses, release 2020) A great proponent of Lieder, she and Jeffrey LaDeur recently recorded To my distant beloved, music of Beethoven and Schumann, also to be released in 2020. She has collaborated extensively with the Alexander String Quartet, and in 2018 In meinem Himmel: The Complete Mahler Song Cycles, a recording of new transcriptions by Zakarias Grafilo, was released on the Foghorn label. In the world of opera, Ms. Scharich has sung over 30 roles ranging from Monteverdi to Philip Glass. In March 2019 she sang the World Premiere of Laura Kaminsky’s Today it Rains, based on the life of Georgia O’Keeffe and in August 2019 she sang the role of Dodo in the West Coast premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves. In 2020 she will sing the role of Rosaura in Ermelinda with Arsminerva, and Anne Kronenburg in Stewart Wallace’s Harvey Milk with Opera Parallèle. Enthusiastic about working with living composers, she is featured in David Conte’s recent release Everyone Sang. See kindrascharich.com for more information and upcoming concerts.
