STEVEN VANHAUWAERT

Hailed by the Los Angeles Times for his “impressive clarity, sense of structure and monster technique,” Steven Vanhauwaert has garnered a wide array of accolades, including the Maurice Lefranc award, the Rotary Prize, the Galiot Prize and the USC Concerto Competition. In October 2004 he won the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, which enabled him to tour through the US and Hungary.  

Mr. Vanhauwaert performs frequently throughout Europe and the US, both solo and in chamber music groups. His performances are broadcast regularly on K-MZT, K-CSN, K-USC, WHKB, W-UOT, K-UAT and KLARA.  

He studied in Brussels at the Royal Conservatory with Boyan Vodenitcharov, then continued his musical development in Los Angeles with professors Kevin Fitz-Gerald, James Bonn and John Perry at the USC Thornton School of Music. 

Mr. Vanhauwaert has appeared in major venues with orchestras such as the Pacific Symphony, the Flemish Symphony, the USC Symphony, the Bryan Symphony, Collegium Instrumentale, the Concord Jazz Ensemble, the Auburn Symphony, the Eastern Sierra Chamber Orchestra, the Peninsula Symphony and Prima la Musica. His China solo debut tour in June 2010, culminating at the National Center of Performing Arts in Beijing, was received with great critical acclaim and led to an immediate invitation to return the next season. 

As a member of the Felici Piano Trio, Mr. Vanhauwaert has given recitals and master classes all over the US. He has been a frequent guest in festivals such as Jacaranda, the Festival of Flanders, the Eastern Sierra Music Festival, Musik Zentral, the Malibu Coast Music Festival, the Sundays-at-Two series, the Sundays Live Series, the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music and Euterpe. He has also been invited to perform in major concert venues such as the Concertgebouw Brugge, the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Bovard Auditorium in Los Angeles, the Singel of Antwerp, the Great Hall of the Brussels Conservatory, the Great Hall of the Budapest Liszt Conservatory, as well as numerous other prestigious venues in Bulgaria, Hungary, China, the US, the Netherlands, France, Canada, Austria and Spain.

DANNY HOLT

One of a new generation of innovative young musicians ushering classical music into the 21st century, pianist Danny Holt has been called “phenomenal” by the late music critic Alan Rich (SoIveHeard.com), and hailed as one of the “local heroes” of the Los Angeles music scene (LAcitybeat.com). Mr. Holt brings his boundless energy and wit to unique interpretations of new music, 20th-century music, and obscure, unusual and neglected repertoire. He is equally at home whether performing on the concert stage, in an intimate house concert, or in one of his elaborate multimedia performances where classical music meets rock concert aesthetics and a performance art sensibility. 

Mr. Holt has performed nationwide in venues as diverse as Carnegie Hall (New York), REDCAT (Los Angeles), MASS MoCA (North Adams, Mass.), Machineworks (Portland, Ore.), and Joe’s Pub (New York), and he has performed and given guest lectures at music schools and universities across the U.S. and abroad.

 A specialist in contemporary music, Mr. Holt has been a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Music Institute, the New England Conservatory Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, and the Weill Music Workshop at Carnegie Hall. He is a member of The Robin Cox Ensemble, one of California’s preeminent contemporary music ensembles.  

Mr.Holt is also frequently seen performing in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and on Santa Monica’s Jacaranda: Music of the Edge series. He has performed with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, the California EAR Unit, CalArts New Century Players, and the Calder Quartet. 

Among his ambitious solo projects is The Piano/Percussion Project. Over 20 composers have created new works for Mr. Holt’s unique setup in which he plays piano and an array of percussion instruments simultaneously. Since Mr. Holt is known for his virtuosic, no-holds-barred performances, it is no surprise that composers from around the world continue to contribute pieces to this collection. He will unveil new versions of The Piano/Percussion Project throughout the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons, including upcoming performances at REDCAT (Los Angeles), CNMAT (Berkeley), Rice University, and Princeton University.

 In addition to championing the works of emerging composers, Mr. Holt has worked with such composers as Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen, Christian Wolff, Arthur Jarvinen, James Tenney, Graham Fitkin, David Lang, Michael Gordon, Augusta Read Thomas, Jo Kondo, and Michael Finnissy, among others.

 In 2001, Mr. Holt became a Yamaha Young Performing Artist, a distinction reserved for only ten musicians each year. In 1999 he won a prestigious award from the National Alliance for Excellence, which was presented to him by composer Philip Glass.

 He has also received numerous awards and grants from ASCAP, the American Composers Forum, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music, and the National Federation for Advancement in the Arts. 

Mr. Holt holds degrees from California Institute of the Arts, Hampshire College, Smith College, and Interlochen Arts Academy. He is also a percussionist, composer, teacher, and scholar. He resides in Los Angeles, where he serves on the faculty of the Herb Alpert School of Music at California Institute of the Arts.