Mei Yi Foo (piano)

Mei Yi Foo has been hailed "a pianist to watch" by BBC Radio 3 and as a "Rising Star" by International Piano Magazine. Winner of the 2008 Maria Callas International Piano Competition, Mei Yi has earned her reputation as an outstanding musician with a "special and unclassifiable talent" (www.inkpot.com) and as a pianist who is at home in repertoire ranging from Bach to Ligeti.

Following her early training with Lai Mei Kuen in Malaysia, Mei Yi attended the Royal College and the Royal Academy of Music in London under the tutelage of Yonty Solomon, Christopher Elton and Alexander Satz. Since her arrival in the United Kingdom in 1996, she has captivated audiences at the Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Purcell Room, Wallace Collection and Steinway Hall. She has collaborated with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, London Chamber Orchestra and Malaysian Philharmonic, under conductors Matthias Bamert, Claus Peter Flor, János Fürst, Charles Hazlewood, Kirill Karabits, John Stogårds and Christopher Warren-Green. Performing in recitals since the age of nine, Mei Yi's appearances have taken her around the world, venues including Athens Megaron, Hong Kong City Hall, Munich Pinakothek der Moderne, Santander Palacio de Festivales and Vienna Schönberg Centre. Recent concerto appearances have brought Mei Yi from Kuala Lumpur (Petronas Twin Towers) to Granada (Auditorio Manuel de Falla) where critics praised her "unusual interior strength" together with her "personal, intelligent and unique interpretation" (La Opinion Granada, April '07).

Outside her busy soloist concert schedule, Mei Yi is an enthusiastic chamber musician. She has performed with Dimitri Ashkenazy, Shlomy Dobrinsky, Werner Herbers, Cristina Ortiz, Richard Watkins and has made guest appearances with the leaders of the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra and members of the Prague Wind Quintet. Mei Yi's unique affinity with new music leads her into collaboration with prominent composers such as Dai Fujikura and Unsuk Chin.

Future 08/09 engagements will see Mei Yi performing in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy Malaysia, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain and the UK.