Pianist Esther Budiardjo has received considerable acclaim from many respected music critics. Richard Dyer of The Boston Globe wrote, “One marvels at the subtlety and variety of her touch, and sophisticated virtuosity of her fingers and her musical mind.” Harold C. Schonberg of American Record Guide noted, “The performances here are splendid. Budiardjo is a powerful pianist who employs her superb technique with taste.” In addition to winning first prize at the 1996 William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland, she was awarded top prizes at the 1993 Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition in Illinois and both the 1998 and the 2000 Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition in Florida.

In addition to performing across North America, in recent years Ms. Budiardjo toured Southeast Asia as a solo recitalist. In 2005, she performed at the newly opened Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Centre in Malaysia in its premier HSBC Classics Piano Festival; at Gedung Kesenian Concert Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia; and at Victoria Concert Hall as part of the Singapore International Piano Festival. In 2004, she gave recitals at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre in Four Seasons Concerts' Distinguished Artists Series, and at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. Highlights of 2007-08 solo appearances include a performance with the South Carolina Philharmonic and a recital for Sundays Live at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Ms. Budiardjo’s recordings for the Pro Piano Records label have gained wide international recognition. Her interpretations of Mendelssohn's music in her debut recording prompted the following statement from American Record Guide, “Mendelssohn's piano works were always wonderfully crafted, and when they are played as well as this, they are endlessly enjoyable.” In 2000 Philadelphia Inquirer selected her second recording which features the music of Godowsky and Tansman as one of its top 10 classical CDs. In a glowing review of Ms. Budiardjo’s third recording which features works by Moszkowski and Brahms, Gramophone magazine wrote, “Budiardjo is clearly a pianist to watch.” September 2005 marks the release of her fourth recording, a two-CD compilation of Henselt’s music.

In prior seasons Ms. Budiardjo has given recitals in Lincoln Center in New York City, Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Jordan Hall in Boston, le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Harmony Hall in Matsumoto, and various other concert venues around the world. She has made concerto appearances with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, the Boston Philharmonic, the Omaha Symphony, the Belgian National Orchestra, and others. In North America, National Public Radio and CBC Radio have featured her performances in their broadcasts.

Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, Ms. Budiardjo received the Doctorate degree and the Presidential Scholar Award from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Her principal teachers have been Wha Kyung Byun, Russell Sherman and Lev Vlasenko. A Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts graduate, she has attended the Steans Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival, Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Currently she resides in Vancouver, Canada.

January 2008