Biography
You only have to listen to her once to know that playing music is what Michelle Schumann is meant to be doing. When she's at the piano, she doesn't just make sounds with it; she coaxes feelings from it, vivid emotions in cascading rhythms and artfully shaded tones. In every note she strikes, you can hear a sensitivity to the drama and colors of the score expressed through fingers that float over the keys in a ballet. She connects to the music in a way that transcends the cognitive. She just gets it.
A native Canadian, Dr. Michelle Schumann is a highly sought after solo pianist and collaborative artist both in her hometown of Austin, TX and throughout the US, Canada and Europe. Her performances have been described as “smart, irresistible, and utterly captivating” and have regularly been included among the years’ top arts events by the Austin American Statesman. She has been nominated for best instrumentalist (2003, 2006, 2007) and in 2006 and 2007 won the award for Best Chamber Music Performance from the Austin Critics Table. In 2006, she was the top prizewinner in the Janice K. Hodges Competition for Contemporary Piano Music and most recently, her performance of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue was named the #1 Classical Arts Event of 2008 by the Austin Chronicle.
Michelle is a fixture in both the local and national music scene. Her appearances have been particularly notable because of her sense of eclecticism, unabashed musical expression, and enthusiasm for communication, integration and collaboration. She has built a reputation for evocative and moving performances that are infused with a unique energy and zeal. She has performed at international festivals including the Edinburg Fringe Festival, Fayetteville Chamber Music Festival, Tanglewood, Round Top, Long Beach Opera Festival, Fou de Basson Festival in Angouleme, France, Bang on a Can Summer Festival at the Massachusetts Museum of Modern Art, Banff Festival of Music and Sound, Ethos Contemporary Music Festival, International Institute of Music in Munich, Germany, Victoria Bach Festival, and the Snake River Chamber Music Festival.
Michelle has collaborated with leading ensembles throughout the US including the Carpe Diem Quartet, Chiara Quartet, Meridian Arts Ensemble, American Repertory Ensemble, Austin Lyric Opera, American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Austin, and Long Beach Opera. Her solo and chamber music performances have been heard on CBC Radio, KMFA and Austin’s NPR affiliate, KUT.
Michelle is the Artistic Director of the Austin Chamber Music Center where she leads the season programs, Austin Chamber Music Festival, and all educational programs. Following her ground-breaking first season with the Austin Chamber Music Center, she won multiple awards from the Austin Critics Table for Best Chamber Music Performance and Best Body of Work/Season.
Additionally a committed teacher, Dr. Schumann serves as Associate Professor of Music and Artist in Residence at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor where she is the founder and Artistic Director of the Hillman Visiting Artists Series. She received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin where she studied with Anton Nel and Gregory Allen. Additionally she holds a Young Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Performance Diploma from the Vienna Conservatory.
