Kindra Scharich & Jeffrey LaDeur

Kindra Scharich, Mezzo soprano

Mezzo-soprano Kindra Scharich has been praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for her “exuberant vitality” “fearless technical precision” “deep-rooted pathos” and “irrepressible musical splendor.” As a dedicated recitalist, she has performed more than 250 art songs in 13 languages and enjoys the full complement of recital, concert, and opera engagements alike. Ms. Scharich has presented recitals at the American Composer’s Forum, The Wagner Society,  La Jolla Athenaeum, and the acclaimed Sala Cecília Meireles in Rio de Janeiro.  She has collaborated extensively with the Alexander String Quartet, with whom she recorded In meinem Himmel: The Complete Mahler Song Cycles (Foghorn Classics 2018), lauded by Opera News as an “extraordinary and complete musical and poetical accomplishment.”  Other collaborators include renowned pianist Jeffrey LaDeur, founder and director of San Francisco International Piano Festival.  Their recording To My Distant Beloved has been called “a truly remarkable feat of musical and dramatic transformation” (San Francisco Classical Voice). Upcoming recordings include the release of songs of the great Brazilian composer Alberto Nepomuceno, the focus of Ms. Scharich’s extensive partnership with Brazilian pianist Ricardo Ballestero. Enthusiastic about working with living composers, Ms. Scharich has premièred solo vocal works by Elinor Armer, Kurt Erickson, Janis Mattox, Laurence Rosenthal and Anno Schreier (partnership between Deutsche Oper Berlin and Lieder Alive),  and is featured in Everyone Sang: Vocal Music of David Conte (ARSIS). In the world of opera, Ms. Scharich has sung over 35 roles ranging from Monteverdi to Philip Glass, including première performances of David Carlson’s Anna Karenina, Laura Kaminsky’s Today It Rains and Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves.

Jeffrey Ladeur, Pianist

Jeffrey LaDeur is known for his “delicate keyboard touch and rich expressivity” (San Francisco Chronicle) and playing described as “deeply moving, probing, felt entirely in the moment” (Eduard Laurel) Much sought after for his rare blend of insight, spontaneity, and approachable, communicative stage presence, Jeffrey has captured the hearts and minds of audiences from the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall to the Shanghai Conservatory and the Orlando Festival in the Netherlands. LaDeur has established himself as a compelling exponent of the French masters from Couperin to Ravel in addition to a diverse repertoire of canonical and alternative masterpieces. In March of 2018, LaDeur made his solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall on the centennial of Claude Debussy’s death, performing the composer’s complete Etudes with works by Couperin and Chopin. His acclaimed solo album, The Unbroken Line [MSR Classics) is devoted to music of Rameau and Debussy and has been hailed as “a masterpiece of understatement, simplicity, and ‘old school’ chord-playing where every note sings out with meaning” (Gramophone). In 2017, LaDeur founded the San Francisco International Piano Festival for which he serves as artistic director. 

As a pianist, LaDeur integrates solo performance and collaboration, blending the intimacy of chamber music with the brio of concertante works. As founding member and pianist of the Delphi Trio, Jeffrey toured internationally with the ensemble for a decade and premiered William Bolcom’s first Piano Trio, written for the ensemble. With mezzo soprano Kindra Scharich he recently recorded To My Distant Beloved, an album exploring the relationship between Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben and his epic Fantasy in C for solo piano. Jeffrey has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Robert Mann, Bonnie Hampton, Ian Swensen, Axel Strauss, Geoff Nuttall, Anne Akiko Meyers, David Requiro, and Scott Pingel.   

LaDeur holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music in piano performance and chamber music, respectively.

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