Asher Armstrong

American pianist Asher Armstrong has been noted for his “total honesty with regard to the composer and the connection to the audience … imaginative, sensitive, powerful, wide palette of sounds … deep and sophisticated tone quality,” “deeply expressive and sensitive spirit,” “astounding technique and originality,” “marvelous, huge sound” and for an unusually intuitive communicative power: “listening to Asher perform gives one the impression he is a ‘piano natural’, born to play the piano.” Asher made his solo recital debut at 15, performing Chopin’s B-flat minor Sonata and works of Liszt, and subsequently with orchestra (Grieg Piano Concerto). Asher has worked with many leading pianists of North America and Europe, including Michael Chertock (M.M CCM), Kevin Kenner, Nicholas Ashton, Fay Adams (BM TN), and renowned Romanian pianist Marietta Orlov (DMA UofT). A passionate, committed teacher, Asher in on the Piano Faculty at the University of Toronto, and was formerly an Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Arkansas. He also maintains an active concert career: notable recent engagements include concerto soloist with Pax Christi Chorale and the Mozart Players of Toronto (Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy), soloist with the North York Concert Orchestra (Tchaikovsky’s B-flat minor Piano Concerto), faculty solo and chamber recitals at the University of Toronto and appearances as a guest soloist, adjudicator, and masterclass clinician at schools in both Canada and the US. An enthusiastic music scholar, Asher has been published by such celebrated institutions as Cambridge University Press, Clavier, American Music, Teacher, the Piano Journal, and others.