Classical Concert Pianist Emma Taggart
Classically trained concert pianist Emma Taggart commands the stage with a personality that is at once engaging and unique. Since her first solo recital at age 6, she has stunned audiences across the world, both as a solo artist and as a member of the piano duo Taggart Squared, alongside her brother Jacob. She has given hundreds of solo and duo concerts, received awards in national and international competitions, and been featured multiple times on prestigious programs such as NPR’s From The Top, MPR’s Minnesota Varsity and WQXR’s Young Artist Showcase.
Emma has performed with numerous orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of St. Petersburg, and the Milan Chamber Orchestra. She has attended festivals and performed solo recitals in the US, Italy, Spain, and Russia. She has received first prize in the María Herrero Int’l Competition, the YPSCA MN Orchestra Concerto Competition, the Schubert Club Student Scholarship Competition, and the Dakota Valley Symphony Concerto Competition, amongst others. This past March she was awarded first place in the Mannes School of Music Concerto Competition and performed the Florence Price Piano Concerto with the Mannes Orchestra.
Outside of the classical world, Emma has shared the stage with rock legends such as Sheila E (Prince’s former drummer and fiancé), as well the band The Goo Goo Dolls, opening a private show for them in the summer of 2019. As proud Minnesota natives, Emma and her brother were invited to perform by Sheila E in a special tribute concert honoring Prince at Paisley Park on the one year anniversary of his death.
Emma is in the last year of her undergraduate studies at the Mannes School of Music with renowned concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein. Before studying with Dinnerstein, she was a student of the late Dr. Reid Smith for 14 years.
Emma is proud to be a founding member of the Open Note NYC Concert Series, a student run organization devoted to providing performance opportunities to student musicians and premiering works of student composers.