Applauded by MusicWeb International for his “splendid playing…great skill and technical prowess,” pianist DOMINIC CHELI is First Prize winner of the 2017 Concert Artists Guild Competition. Earlier in 2017, Naxos released his debut CD, and he won the Music Academy of the West Concerto Competition, leading to a critically acclaimed performance of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Festival Orchestra. His rapidly advancing career includes his concerto debut in Walt Disney Hall under the baton of Valery Gergiev this season, and his Carnegie Hall recital debut on the 2018-19 CAG Series at Weill Recital Hall.
A native of St. Louis, Dominic has been praised for playing with “insight and tenderness” and “touch [that] was resonant and rich” (The Heartland Journal). Highlights of his 2017-18 season include a performance of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Northwestern German Philharmonic, as well as recitals at Steinway Hall in Beverly Hills and the Colburn School in Los Angeles. His busy spring and summer 2018 schedule includes a return to the Virginia Arts Festival for a special concert celebrating his teacher and mentor André-Michel Schub (including their collaboration on Mozart’s Concerto for Two Pianos, K. 365, with the Virginia Symphony), and also debut recitals at the Ravinia Festival and New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival.
His debut CD for the Naxos label (July 2017) features the music of Muzio Clementi, and has been very favorably reviewed: “definitive performances that match splendid playing with an appreciation of, and sympathy with, Clementi’s diverse, classically based style.” (MusicWeb International). Dominic also recently recorded a performance on WQXR’s long-running McGraw Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase program with host Bob Sherman, to be aired in mid-November 2017, and he has appeared on the Public radio program, From the Top.
Among the many notable venues at which Dominic has performed are Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, the Granada Theatre of Santa Barbara and the Sheldon Concert Hall of St. Louis. Also in his hometown, he recently performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis. Committed to sharing his passion for music with younger audiences, Mr. Cheli recently performed on the concert series “Baby Got Bach,” at the invitation of pianist and Artistic Director Orli Shaham.
Dominic has received numerous awards from Yale University including the Elizabeth Parisot Prize as “an outstanding pianist” and the Charles S. Miller Prize, awarded to “a gifted pianist who has done outstanding work.” He also received the Harold Bauer Award from the Manhattan School of Music “given to a student in recognition of outstanding accomplishment, cooperation, and promise”.
Dominic Cheli began his musical training in St. Louis, and he is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California, studying with Fabio Bidini. He earned his Master of Music degree from Yale University and Bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Past teachers include Zena Ilyashov, Peter Frankl, André-Michel Schub and Sylvia Rosenberg.
Beethoven:
Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1
Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, No. 2
Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 2, No. 3
Sonata No. 4 in E♭ major (“Grand Sonata”), Op. 7
Get Tickets
