Mackenzie Melemed

He was recently named one of ten recipients of The Juilliard School’s Career Advancement Grant, providing up to $20,000 in supplemental support through 2022. He appears on the 2020 roster for the Centre for Musical Excellence and was selected a finalist of the 2021 American Pianist Association Awards. The distinction comes with an elevated cash prize of $50,000 awarded to all finalists due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding COVID-19.
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At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Melemed transformed his New York City apartment into a home studio, performing concerts via live-stream and offering virtual lessons to students around the world. He often collaborated with his roommate, violinist Max Tan, for Groupmuse performances and appearance
on the New Asia Chamber Music Society Facebook page. Melemed teaches on the Play With a Pro and Resonance platforms, and offers mini-lectures and monthly live-streamed performances on Patreon. More info can be found on his website, www.mackenziemelemed.com.  As of August, Melemed is living in Finland, where he hopes to establish a new home base.
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Recent notable engagements included his debut recital at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, recitals at Paris’ Salle Cortôt, the Santa Barbara International Music Festival in Sardinia, Italy, and a performance of
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Other performances from the 2019-20 season took place in Finland, France, South Korea, and throughout the United States. In October 2019, Warner Classics released “Möbius”, featuring Melemed’s
performance of the Jeajoon Ryu Piano Concerto with conductor Ralf Gothóni and Sinfonia Varsovia.
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2018-19 season engagements of note included the Symphony premiere of Barber’s Piano Concerto with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra,the European premiere of South Korean composer Jeajoon Ryu’s Piano Concerto with Ralf Gothóni and the Kuopio City Orchestra, a subsequent tour of the Ryu Concerto with the KBS Symphony (Korea) at the Beethoven Easter Festival in Poland, a solo recital at WQXR’s The Greene Space, Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra, and
performances at the Glafsfjordens Music Festival in Sweden with the David Oistrakh Quartet. In 2018, Melemed’s recording of Avner Dorman’s Three Etudes was released on the Steinway and Sons label.
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In May 2019, Mackenzie Melemed won 3rd Prize in the 1st China International Music Competition, performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in the final round with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the National Center for Performing
Arts in Beijing. Additional honors include 1st Prize and Chamber Music Prize at the 4th Maj Lind International Piano Competition (August 2017), 1st Prize and Commissioned Work Prize at the 2017 Iowa International Piano Competition, 5th Prize at the 2012 Gina Bachauer International Young Artists Piano Competition in Utah, and the Commissioned Etudes Prize of the 2012 New York International Piano Competition.
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At the age of three, Melemed’s grandfather bought him a keyboard at a yard sale, leading to his enrollment in a beginner piano course. Performances at local senior centers soon became a weekly occurrence, and by the time Melemed turned seven, he had given over 200 concerts for senior citizens and charitable organizations. When Melemed appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, she remarked, “what a bargain!” at the $1 price-tag for the instrument that ignited his passion for music. A series of small local performances connected Melemed with Washington D.C. in 2004, and he was invited to perform at the White House Holiday Open House for five consecutive years. In 2007, only one year after beginning classical training, Melemed won the grand prize at the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition and gave his Carnegie Hall debut.

Melemed is a recent graduate of the two-year Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School with Robert McDonald and Emanuel Ax. Melemed also holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where he graduated from its prestigious accelerated five-year-dual-degree program. Former teachers include Dean Arvidson, Alexander Korsantia, Olga Rogach and William Smiddy Additionally, Melemed has been honored to work with distinguished artists, such as Vladimir Feltsman, Stephen Hough, Pavel Gililov, Robert Levin, Susan Starr, Nelita True, and Arie Vardi, among many others. In addition to English and French, Melemed is fluent in Finnish and studied the language at Columbia University for three years.