Nolan Pearson, who has been noted by the New York Times as a “high-energy pianist” who brings “beauty and cohesiveness” to his solo performances, is also a widely active chamber musician. Based in Chicago, he has performed regularly with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and on the CSO Chamber Series and Dame Myra Hess Series. Recent performances also include on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, Hong Kong City Hall Theater, at MIAM in Istanbul and Rolston Hall at Banff, and with Cho-Liang Lin, Lucy Shelton, Chicago Pro Musica and the Mark Morris Dance Group. As soloist, he has appeared with conductors including Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Stefan Asbury, Bridget Reischl and Robert Hasty.

Mr. Pearson is especially engaged with new music, and was the original pianist of the New Fromm Players. He has commissioned many solo piano works and is the winner of major grants including the Edes Prize for Emerging Artists and the Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellowship. He studied principally with Ursula Oppens and Robert Shannon, and with Peter Serkin and Stephen Drury while a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Mr. Pearson has been an Instructor at Northwestern University since 2009 and has also been active as a private studio teacher and adjudicate. He also has a degree in Biochemistry and is currently pursuing a medical degree.