Bio

Known for her imaginative and colorful performances, Vivian Anderson is emerging as a pianist with both dazzling artistry and intellectual depth. A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, she was surrounded by the arts at a young age and began piano lessons at age five after teaching herself to read music.  She has won awards at numerous competitions, including the Hope College Young Artists Piano Competition, the Rosalie Edwards Music Competition, The Ithaca College Concerto Competition, the Ithaca College Youth Solo Piano Competition, and the Junior Steinway Award.

An avid collaborator, Vivian has performed a diverse range of repertoire with both instrumentalists and vocalists. She has also worked as a collaborative piano assistant at Florida State University, where she accompanied degree recitals and performed as a member of the University Symphony Orchestra. Most recent projects include a performance of Olivier Messiaen’s monumental Quatuor pour la fin du temps with fellow graduate students at FSU.

Vivian is passionate about making classical music accessible to audiences and creating connections between new music and established works. Her recent lecture recital, A Dialogue with the Past, explores the influence of older composers on recent piano works by composers Caroline Shaw and Cheryl Frances-Hoad.

Vivian holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan, where she was an 8-semester Angell Scholar (an award given to students who received no grades lower than an A- for 8 consecutive semesters). She went on to receive a Master of Music from Indiana University and a Doctor of Music from Florida State University. Vivian’s teachers include Read Gainsford, Karen Shaw, Logan Skelton, Joel Hastings, and Elisabeth Wright (fortepiano).