Evren Ozel, piano

Evren Ozel, piano, began taking lessons at age three at MacPhail Center for Music in his hometown of Minneapolis, MN. He has performed with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Boston Pops. He has taken masterclasses from Sir András Schiff, Richard Goode, Paul Lewis, and other notable artists. His achievements include scholarships from the U.S. Chopin Foundation and the YoungArts Foundation, first prize at the 2016 Boston Symphony Concerto Competition, second prize at the 2016 Thomas and Evon Cooper International Competition, and second prize as well as the Mozart and Chopin special prizes at the 2018 Dublin International Competition. Most recently, he received the second prize at the 2020 U.S. National Chopin Competition as well as the special prizes for Best Mazurkas and Best Polonaise. An avid chamber musician, Mr. Ozel has performed as a guest with Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players and participated at Marlboro and ChamberFest Cleveland. Mr. Ozel previously studied piano with Paul Wirth, theory and composition with Sarah Miller, and conducting with Courtney Lewis. He currently studies at New England Conservatory. Since 2014 he has been a student of Wha Kyung Byun.