Sheng Cai, Piano

"Inner passion...fine sense of sound, crystal clear touch and lyrical ease"

June 27, 2026 7:00 PM
     Newmarket Old Town Hall

   460 Botsford Street
Newmarket

Tickets:

Adults $35 - Seniors - $30 - Students $25

Group of 4 $50

***

Sheng Cai began his musical studies in Canada at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and in the US at the Juillard School's pre-college division in New York. At age 15 he won top prizes at the prestigious Concours OSM ( Montreal Symphony Competition) and the Toronto Symphony Competition. At that time he performed for the first time in Newmarket at the VPAN's Young Artist Showcase in 2005. He was a top prize-winner at many more competitions throughout his teenage years, including the International Young Artists Competition of Colorado, the Bay State Competition in Boston , and the youngest finalist and special prize winner at the Bosendorfer International Piano Competition in the US.

He received his Bachelor of Music Degree under full scholarship at the New England Conservatory in Boston. His teachers and mentors include pianists Anton Kuerti, Garry Graffman and Russell Sherman.

Sheng Cai gained praises worldwide for his performances of major keyboard works of the past four centuries. Since his teenage years Sheng Cai has performed a broad spectrum of over thirty-five different piano concertos, from Mozart to 21st century living composers, with more than sixty orchestras worldwide as a soloist. With a number of prizes and awards he continues to push the boundaries in interpreting both the established and rarities of the piano literature. Recently nominated for Canada's prestigious " 2025 Oskar Morawetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance", Sheng Cai has been delighting audience and critics across four continents with his electrifying performing charisma and individual personality. Recently described as " with seeming effortlessness and performing with gusto and loving attention to detail" by Buffalo Hives in New York and as " having the inner passion paired with Rubinstein's nonchalance" by Thüringer Allgemeine in Germany.
In solo recitals, Sheng Cai has presented at many prestigious venues in North America and Europe. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with many fine artists. Many of his performances have been broadcast across North America and Europe.

Sheng Cai is a passionate recording artist. His first recording was a CD of works by Mozart and Martinu for the CBC. His most recent disc of Schumann, Liszt, Grieg, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky on ATMA classique label gained international acclaim.
Sheng Cai is instrumental in advocating many neglected works that are peak of the piano literature, works by composers such as Enescu, Kabalevsky, Kapustin, Medtner, Mathieu, Villa-Lobos. His own works frequently show up in his concert programs. He has made audiences more aware of the treasures of 21st century piano literature by premiering living composers works worldwide.

***