BYRON SCHENKMAN is founding pianist of the Mira Trio, with violinist Gabriela Diaz and cellist Alexei Gonzales. Previously artistic director of the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, he received the Erwin Bodky Award for "outstanding achievement" by the Cambridge Society for Early Music in 1999. Since 2001 he has been performing as a modern pianist, including solo recitals in Boston, Peterborough, Seattle, Vancouver, Winston-Salem, and on a Chilean tour sponsored by Partners of the Americas. He has also appeared as guest pianist with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble of Boston, the Daedalus Quartet, the Northwest Sinfonietta, and Philharmonia Northwest. Highlights of the upcoming season include his New York solo recital debut at the Frick Collection, a program of piano solos and trios by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn at the Library of Congress, and a Mendelssohn concerto with Philharmonia Northwest in Seattle.

In addition to his love of performing, Schenkman greatly enjoys teaching about music. His masterclasses on 18th-century performance, informal lecture-recitals, and lively pre-concert talks are always enthusiastically received. In 2006 Schenkman was voted “Best Classical Instrumentalist” by the readers of the Seattle Weekly. His CD of Haydn Piano Sonatas has been acclaimed for its “elegance, wit, and refinement” (American Record Guide), “imaginative, cleanly articulated form” (Seattle Times), and “astonishing sense of humor” (All Music Guide).  

Schenkman is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and received the Master of Music degree with honors in performance from the Indiana University School of Music.