CLARE LONGENDYKE
ABOUT
Pianist Clare Longendyke is a soloist, chamber musician, and passionate advocate for new music with “an artistic ferocity that captivated and astonished listeners” (Waverly Newspapers). She brings daring repertoire, curiosity, and thoughtful storytelling to the concert stage, with a gift for weaving together contemporary works and classical favorites.
Her performances are notable for bringing together technical excellence, artistry, and her charismatic stage presence in unique and imaginative programs. Among her recent successes are her sold-out Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall debut, reaching #2 on the Billboard Traditional Classical chart, and performing the world premieres of two new concertos on a single program.
A fearless supporter for the music of our time, as well as works by female and marginalized composers, Clare curates programs that pair beloved composers of the past—such as Ludwig van Beethoven, Claude Debussy, Robert and Clara Schumann, and Amy Beach—with living voices shaping the future of classical music. She has commissioned more than 30 new works and performed more than 250 world premieres, collaborating closely with composers to create music that reflects the complexity and diversity of our time.
“[Clare Longendyke] demonstrated perfect control, sometimes bending in so closely to her instrument one wondered whether her body might not simply merge with the keyboard.”
WAVERLY NEWSPAPERS
Her debut solo album, …of dreams unveiled, featured music by Claude Debussy, Amy Williams, and Anthony R. Green, and hit #2 on the Billboard Traditional Classical chart. It was praised as “a work of remarkable pianistic invention” (The WholeNote), “delightfully daring,” and “a CD that should not be missed” (EarRelevant). Released in 2024, the recording has been lauded by music critics across North America. Her next album, scheduled for release in 2027, will include solo piano works by Amy Beach, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Sofia Gubaidulina.
Numerous other albums on the Navona label feature Clare as a chamber musician, and an upcoming recording of new solo piano works by living American composer David Colson, performed by Clare, will be released on the Blue Griffin label.
Clare’s 2026-27 season features a robust schedule of recitals, chamber music, and orchestral appearances, including performances in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Carolina. Her upcoming release of Alice Mary Smith’s Concertino for piano and orchestra with the Missouri Symphony will be the World Premiere recording, scheduled for release on the Azika label. She will also serve on the faculty of the Third Coast Chamber Collective in Minnesota in June 2026.
Highlights of recent seasons include appearances with the South Bend Symphony Orchestra (two world premieres of new piano concerti by South Bend area composers), Symphony New Hampshire, the Danville Symphony (Illinois), and the Atlanta Contemporary Music Collective; and recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, The Schubert Club of Minnesota, University of Chicago Presents, Saugatuck Center for the Arts (Michigan) and The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (Twin Cities). She has also appeared as a soloist with the Mankato Symphony, Rochester Symphony, Symphonicity, and Oak Ridge Symphony, and her playing has been featured on NPR’s Performance Today.
Clare has lived and studied on both American coasts and abroad, earning degrees from Boston University’s College of Fine Arts (BM) and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (MM, DM). An ardent Francophile and fluent French speaker, she received the Fulbright–Harriet Hale Woolley Award in the Arts to study at the École Normale de Musique in Paris. She has served as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Chicago and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and continues to engage deeply with communities as a performer, educator, and advocate for equity on the classical concert stage.
Whether from the stage or in conversation, Clare invites audiences into the heart of her artistry—one that builds bridges between tradition and transformation and brings the concert experience vividly to life.
Updated June 2026. Please use in full or request required length. Do not edit.