Thursday, August 13, 2026 • 7:00 PM
Three extraordinary pianists. One unforgettable evening. The gold medalists of the 2025 Rubato International Piano Competition return to OPAC for a dazzling showcase of classical and jazz piano.
After rising to the top of an international field, these remarkable young artists reunite for a night that celebrates the talent, artistry, and excitement at the heart of Rubato.
Tomás Jonsson is a pianist and composer based in the Baltimore area whose work bridges jazz improvisation, classical training, Latin-American musical traditions, and the storytelling legacy of the Great American Songbook.
Described as “extraordinarily talented” by Houston Public Media, he is known for an expressive style that combines an elegant touch, harmonic imagination, and a deep commitment to musical narrative. He is a 2026 Gilmore Piano Fellow. Although classically trained from the age of 5, Jonsson’s artistic voice was also profoundly shaped by years performing in historically Black churches, where gospel traditions reshaped his relationship to groove, harmony, and audience connection. Jonsson is a First-Prize winner of both the 2025 Rubato International Jazz Piano Competition and the 2023 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, and a second-prize laureate of the 2024 UNISA International Jazz Piano Competition in South Africa. Following his Jacksonville win, he led a piano trio at the 2023 Jacksonville Jazz Festival featuring Ulysses Owens Jr. and Reuben Rogers. His cross-cultural background, including strong Mexican roots through his grandmother and a bilingual upbringing, informs his compositional voice, recognized with the 2024 BMI/PeerMusic Latin Music Award for his original work Ocurrencias.
A collaborative artist with a particular affinity for vocal music, Jonsson has performed internationally with singer Dani Toralla at the 2025 and 2026 IGA Guatemala Jazz Festivals as part of their Brazilian jazz project Afina-Dos. His recordings include original releases with trumpeter Benny Benack III and three-time Juno Award–winning vocalist Caity Gyorgy. Jonsson has also performed with artists including Sean Jones, Warren Wolf, Michael Dease, and Jane Monheit. His upcoming project, The Unsung Sinatra (due 2027), is a creative reimagining of hidden gems from Frank Sinatra’s repertoire, featuring rising star Elijah Thiessen and Basie-band alum Brad Leali.
Growing up across Taiwan, Mainland China, and the United States, pianist Huan-Ching Chou brings a cross-cultural perspective to his music-making. His musical sensibility has been shaped by varied musical environments and a broad imagination.
In 2025, he was awarded First Prize and Gold Medal at both the Weatherford College International Piano Competition in Texas and the Rubato International Piano Competition in Alabama. He is the youngest prize winner in the Young Artist Category of the 2024 Spotlight International Piano Competition, where he received the Third and the Best Prokofiev Prizes. His earlier accolades included First Prize at the 2021 Philadelphia International Piano Competition.
An active soloist and collaborative musician, Chou has been captivating audiences at venues such as The Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City, Southampton Cultural Center in Long Island, St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Hilton Head, Schlossgartenhalle in Ettlingen, the Steinway Piano Gallery in Toronto, and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, to name a few. Chou’s performances have also been a highlight at celebrated festivals across the U.S. and Europe, including the Pianofest in the Hamptons, Aspen Music Festival and School, the Rebecca Penneys Piano Festival, and the Oxford Piano Festival, where he attended as a full scholarship recipient. Earlier, during the global pandemic, he also took part in the Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy and the Gijón International Piano Festival in Spain, continuing to enhance his skills and grow as a musician through these valuable opportunities.
In addition to performing engagements, Chou is also a recording artist. At the age of 17, he recorded his debut studio album, Floating Dreams, which was released worldwide by KNS Classical on major music platforms, featuring substantial works by composers ranging from Haydn to Kapustin. A dedicated collaborator, Chou has served as Pre-College Accompanist at the Juilliard School, where he is pursuing his Bachelor of Music degree under the tutelage of Mr. Jerome Lowenthal and Mr. Shai Wosner.
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Shixun Song is a recent graduate of Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He has been playing piano for more than 15 years and currently studies piano with Isabella Li at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Previously, he has also studied with Alexander Korsantia, Li Wang, and Elaine Felder. He has participated in masterclasses with Jerome Lowenthal, Charlotte Hu, Victor Rosenbaum, Michael Lewin, Douglas Humphreys, and Evren Ozel, among many others.
This June, Shixun made his debut with the Boston Pops in Symphony Hall as a Grand Prize winner of the Fidelity Investments Young Artists Competition, performing the third movement of Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto. He has won first place in the Rubato International Piano Competition, the A. Ramón Rivera Piano Competition, the Massachusetts MTNA Competition three consecutive times, the Sejong Music Competition, the USU Summer Piano Festival Competition, and the Fiorito International Music Competition. He has also earned recognition in numerous other competitions and has participated in programs and festivals including the Philadelphia Young Pianists Academy and the Musica Mundi Course and Festival.
In addition to solo piano, Shixun is an avid chamber musician. He recently performed at Alice Tully Hall with his piano trio as part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Young Musicians Concert. He has also performed in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition as a member of Trio Tempest, the youngest ensemble to ever qualify for the competition, which also appeared in the 37th season of the Young Steinway Concert Series. Shixun is an alumnus of New England Conservatory’s Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar, during which he won second place in the New England International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition as a member of Trio Lucidus.
At Phillips Academy, Shixun served as co-president of the Chamber Music Society and principal saxophonist for the wind ensemble. As a Director of Global Operations for the Back to BACH Project, he is deeply committed to expanding access to classical music for young children. Outside of music, he loves participating in quizbowl, linguistics, and flow arts.
