Jaeden Izik-Dzurko

Piano

British Columbian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko, the 2024 Leeds International Piano Competition First Prize Winner and Dame Fanny Waterman Gold Medalist, made history as the first Canadian pianist to win First Prize at the Concours musical international de Montréal in May 2024. Known for his exceptional communicative power and thoughtful interpretations, his performances captivate audiences, critics, and conductors alike. The Calgary Herald praised him for his “distinctive musical personality that imbues even the most routine passagework with character and individuality.”

Jaeden's past performances include opening the Vancouver Recital Society’s 23/24 season and giving recitals at Wigmore Hall, Salle Cortot, the Auditorio Nacional de Música, Weill Recital Hall, and Mexico’s Festival Internacional Cervantino. He has appeared as a soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Hilton Head Symphony, and Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Oxford Philharmonic, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife. His playing has been broadcast on CBC Radio’s In Concert, WQXR’s Young Artists Showcase, and American Public Media’s Performance Today.

Celebrated by the CBC as one of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30,” Jaeden has won several prestigious awards. These include the 2022 Shean Strings & Piano Competition, First Prize, the Canon Audience Prize, and the Chamber Music Award at the 20th Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition, First Prize at both the 2022 Maria Canals International Music Competition and the 2022 Hilton Head International Piano Competition. In March 2024, he was awarded a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship.

A passionate advocate for contemporary music, especially works by Canadian composers, at the Concours musical international de Montréal Jaeden received the Award for the Best performance of an imposed Canadian work, his performance of Ernst Schneider’s Romantic Piano Concerto (1980) with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra was recorded live in 2019 and released on Canadian Soundscapes in 2022. In 2017, he presented a solo recital of works written solely by Canadian composers in honor of Canada’s sesquicentennial. More recently he gave the world premiere of Somnis Radiants (Radiant Dreams, 2022) by Spanish composer Elisenda Fábregas at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr.

Born in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Jaeden earned his Bachelor of Music degree at The Juilliard School under Yoheved Kaplinsky and his Master of Music degree at the University of British Columbia with Corey Hamm. He is also a former student of Ian Parker. Currently, he studies with Jacob Leuschner at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and Benedetto Lupo at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.