Pianist Mohamed Shams was hailed as a “Deeply impressive pianist of tremendous flair and intellectual strength” and a “Spectacular pianist”, by Herald Scotland’s Critic, Michael Tumelty. Robert (Bob) Sherman has featured Mr. Shams’s selected live recordings on New York’s top classical radio station WQXR three times through the program, “McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase”.

Shams enjoys a varied musical life, performing diverse repertoire in the United States, Europe, and the Far East. As a recitalist, accompanist, chamber musician and soloist, he has performed in such important concert halls as Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Miller Auditorium and Bruno Walter Auditorium in Lincoln Center, Yamaha Hall in London, Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, and Kolarac Hall in Belgrade. He has collaborated with such well-known conductors as Enrique Batiz, Philippe Entremont, Sergio Cárdenas, Edward Cumming, Christoph Müller, David Danzmyr, Ahmed El-Saedi and Nader Abbassi. As a soloist he has played with The Royal Philharmonic, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Göttingen Symphoniker, Cairo Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan School Orchestra, Hartt School Orchestra and Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Orchestra.

Recipient of a Fulbright grant in 2006 for research on twentieth century American composers, Mr. Shams frequently performs works by Elliott Carter, John Corigliano, and Florence Price. He is also a champion of works by forgotten or rarely performed late nineteenth and early twentieth century composers such as Medtner, Bortkiewicz and Bacewicz. His musical studies earned him a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music and Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from Cairo Conservatoire. He earned another master’s degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and his Doctorate from the Hartt School of music at the University of Hartford. Mr. Shams is currently a faculty member at the Purchase College of Music- SUNY (White Plains, NY) and University of Saint Joseph (Hartford, CT).

We welcome Mr. Shams to his first performance on Our Historical Piano Concerts Series.