Evening Embers: Ambient Music with Clare Longendyke

Pianist Clare Longendyke’s dazzling musicianship and colorful interpretations delight audiences wherever she performs. Critics have lauded her “artistic ferocity that captivated and astonished listeners,” (Waverly Newspapers), her “great virtuosity and delicacy,” and the “loving attention” she pays to the music she performs (Hyde Park Herald). Recognized as a firebrand in the classical music field for the expressive energy and originality she brings to new and traditional repertoire, the effervescent soloist and chamber musician aspires to foster interpersonal connections between people from diverse backgrounds to catalyze conversation and the exchange of unique perspectives through music performance.

Set apart by her inspiring touch and mesmerizing way of sharing music, Longendyke is a sought-after soloist, performing over 50 concerts a year in North America and Europe. Recent orchestral partners include the Federal Way Symphony Orchestra of Washington, the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra of Minnesota, and the Mississippi Valley Orchestra.

Longendyke’s appeal has earned her performances as a featured soloist in notable concert series such as The University of Chicago Presents, National Public Radio’s Performance Today, the Fazioli Piano Series in Los Angeles, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ SoundBites Series. She has also performed at renowned festivals, including the Alba Music Festival of Italy, the European American Musical Alliance of France, the New Music on the Point Festival, and the Mostly Modern Festival.

Longendyke blends a passion for music’s classical tradition with an infectious commitment to what she calls “the music of our time.” Her advocacy for innovative music and programming are evident through Music in Bloom, a new music festival she founded in 2019.

In the last decade, she has premiered over 150 new compositions and performed the music of today’s most exciting living composers—Joan Tower, Shawn Okpebholo, Mason Bates, Vivian Fung, Gabriela Lena Frank, Amy Williams, and others. Recent recordings include Homage to Nadia Boulanger: Works for Viola and Piano with Rose Wollman, and In the City, new works for Saxophone and Piano with Andrew Harrison. Her debut solo CD featuring works by Claude Debussy, Amy Williams, and Anthony R. Green is planned for release in early 2023.

Before earning master’s and doctoral degrees at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Longendyke completed degrees at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, and the École Normale de Musique in Paris. The ardent Francophile and French-speaking pianist received the Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley Award in the Arts to study music in Paris as an undergraduate.

​A dedicated educator, Longendyke is equally passionate about helping young creators develop their musical skills as she is preparing them to become ambassadors of classical and contemporary music in their communities. She has led workshops and masterclasses at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the State University of New York at Fredonia, the University of Kansas, the University of Northern Iowa, and Wartburg College. Hailed as “a sparkling pianist” by the Hyde Park Herald, Longendyke is on track for a transcendent musical career.