Byron Schenkman

Schenkman grew up in a musical family[5] on a farm in Lafayette, Indiana. He graduated from the New England Conservatory, where he was a student of John Gibbons.[10] He studied with Elisabeth Wright and Edward Auer at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and earned a Master of Music degree with Honors in Performance.[10] In 1990 he earned a Performer's Certificate in Harpsichord from Indiana University School of Music. In 1991 Schenkman was a finalist in the Cambridge Society for Early Music's International Mozart Competition.[2]

At first Schenkman played harpsichord and fortepiano.[8][11] He has recorded dozens of albums, and has made solo and concerto appearances in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.[2][12][13] In 1999 he won the Cambridge Society for Early Music's Erwin Bodky Award, given "for outstanding achievement in the field of early music".[3][10] In 2003 Schenkman's recording with Musica Pacifica, Telemann: Chamber Cantatas & Trio Sonatas, won the Chamber Music America/WQXR Record Award.[14][15] In 2004 Schenkman was awarded a Partners of the Americas travel grant which enabled him to perform and teach in Chile.[16] In 2006 Schenkman was voted "Best Classical Instrumentalist" by the readers of the Seattle Weekly newspaper.[17][18] In 2007 he was featured in the Seattle Magazine Music Portfolio of Seattle's Defining Musicians as a Key Player saying that "He makes 300-year-old music sound fresh."[19]

Schenkman has worked with baroque violinist Ingrid Matthews.[20][21] In 1994 they co-founded Seattle Baroque Orchestra, where Schenkman was artistic director from 1994 through 2004, and co-director from 2010 to 2013.[5] In 2014 Schenkman and Matthews received the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Entrepreneur of the Month award.[22] He also performs with various chamber ensembles and tours internationally with his contemporaries.[5][23] He performs as a guest artist with chamber music ensembles in North America.[3][24] His live performances at the Boston Early Music Festival have been compared with those of Vladimir Horowitz and Jimi Hendrix.[7][10] He was reviewed in The Boston Globe as "a superb and imaginative instrumentalist".[10][18][25]

Schenkman gave his first recital on modern piano at Town Hall, Seattle, in 2001, and has since been active performing and recording on modern piano and harpsichord.[26][27] His New York recital debut playing modern piano was in 2009.[28][29][30] Schenkman's playing has been described as "dazzling" in American Record Guide,[31] and listed in the Chicago Tribune as a favorite recording of 2000, for "stylish, invigorating performances".[32] He released The Art of the Harpsichord in 2017 to critical acclaim, featuring eight different historical harpsichords from the National Music Museum.[33][34]

In 2013, Schenkman formed Byron Schenkman & Friends.

In 2017 Schenkman created a new recording label named Byron Schenkman & Friends. In 2018 the recording label name was changed to BS&F Recordings.[35]

On March 26, 2023 Schenkman performed the world premiere of a concerto for harpsichord and strings composed by Caroline Shaw on a commission to mark the 10th season of Byron Schenkman & Friends.[36]

Schenkman teaches music history at Seattle University, where he is a member of the Fine Arts Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.[37] He was a member of the Early Music Faculty at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he taught harpsichord, piano, and music history from 2005 to 2017.[38] In 2012 Schenkman was visiting instructor of fortepiano and harpsichord at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Schenkman gives master classes on 18th-century performance, informal lecture-recitals, and pre-concert talks.[39] He also teaches harpsichord master classes, serves artistic residencies, and teaches music history at music festivals and universities.[22] Schenkman is a frequent guest on radio station 98.1, Classical KING-FM.[40]

His principal harpsichord was built by Craig Tomlinson in 2013.[41][42]

• Official website:
• 'Ep. 66: Byron Schenkman, harpsichordist, pianist and music director' Interview by Tigran Arakelyan