EVREN OZEL
piano

American pianist Evren Ozel has been praised for his blend of technical mastery and compelling artistry, with Third Coast Review calling him "an absolute wow." Bronze Medalist and recipient of the Mozart Concerto Prize at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Evren is also the recipient of a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant and currently serves as a 2024–27 Bowers Program Artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Since making his orchestral debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 11, Evren has appeared as soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and Florida Orchestra, performing under conductors including Marin Alsop, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Christian Reif, Ruth Reinhardt, and Hugh Wolff. Highlights of the 2026–27 season include recital appearances with Washington Performing Arts, Cliburn Concerts, and Capital Region Classical, alongside concerto debuts with the Grand Rapids, North Carolina, Hartford, and Alabama Symphonies. His debut album of Mozart concertos with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Howard Griffiths, released on Alpha Classics, was selected as BBC Music Magazine's Album of the Week.

Special Collaborations

  • As part of the CAG on Tour program, OAK Trio is a new ensemble comprising prize-winning soloists pianist Evren Ozel, violinist Nathan Amaral, and cellist Leland Ko, all alums of the New England Conservatory. The Trio program, entitled Common Spirit, seeks to explore unique cultural songs and dances - each culture’s way of capturing and affirming the spirit of its people. Here's a link to their program.

LINKS & MATERIALS

Programs & Repertoire
Press Kit
Website

  • "Evren Ozel’s blending of the hands to arrive at exact right texture and timbre from an infinite set of possibilities, his knack for accenting just the right notes in any harmonic structure to impart the perfect color to an interwoven melodic line... a reminder of sorts as to just why we go to hear great music performed by great artists in this age when virtually anything and everything we want to hear is literally at our fingertips."

    — Lori Wilkerson, Oregon ArtsWatch

  • “I have a new favorite pianist.”

    — Thomas Søndergård, Music Director, Minnesota Orchestra

  • "Evren Ozel is a collaborator through and through, whose assured and refined command of the solo part was intricately integrated into the music’s orchestral fabric."

    — Jed Distler, Gramophone