Past Performances

John Wilson is widely acclaimed as one of today’s foremost interpreters and advocates of American piano repertoire. Serving as Pianist of the San Francisco Symphony and San Diego Symphony and Principal Keyboard of the Marin Symphony, he occupies posts that place him at the center of the American orchestral landscape. Critics praise his performances for electrifying virtuosity, deep stylistic insight, and an uncanny ability to illuminate the uniquely American voice in classical music; the San Francisco Chronicle commended his “casual virtuosity on piano.” The 2025‑2026 season underscores Wilson’s stature at the top tier of the field.

This fall he performs with the Marin Symphony for a blockbuster weekend of two of Liszt’s Piano Concerti in November with Music Director Designate, Fawzi Haimor. He also returned for a repeat appearance at the 2025 Midsummer Mozart Festival, performing Mozart’s 23rd Piano Concerto. A keen and collaborative musician, Wilson has partnered with iconic vocalists Frederica von Stade, Sasha Cooke, and Joshua Bell. During 2024‑2025 he cemented his reputation as a defining voice in American piano music: Philip Glass Piano Concerto 1 at Carnegie Hall with The Chamber Orchestra of New york; headline appearances with the San Francisco Symphony Chamber Series; and acclaimed interpretations of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy (Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra) and Grieg’s Piano Concerto (Marin Symphony). He took center stage at Michael Tilson Thomas’s 80th‑birthday gala with the San Francisco Symphony—an event hailed by Bay Area media as a civic touchstone of musical excellence.

Wilson’s artistry has been recognized with First Prize at the 2019 International Respighi Prize, the 2021 American Competition, and the 2023 Ernst Bacon Memorial Award—the latter honoring exemplary performances of American music. Wilson records extensively, focusing on American composers. His Avie Records debut introduced the world‑premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’s Upon Further Reflection and while his follow‑up Rachmaninoff • Gershwin: Transcriptions by Earl Wild surpassed one million streams within its first year. He appears on two GRAMMY‑winning recordings of Meditations on Rilke and Adriana Mater by the San Francisco Symphony, and on the PENTATONE release GRACE: The Music of Michael Tilson Thomas, which is praised for bringing American piano music to a global audience.