We’re thrilled to welcome pianist John Wilson as our soloist for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488, on Sunday, November 22 at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
John Wilson is widely acclaimed as one of today’s foremost interpreters and advocates of American piano repertoire. As pianist of the San Francisco Symphony and San Diego Symphony and principal keyboard of the Marin Symphony, he stands at the center of the American orchestral landscape. The San Francisco Chronicle has commended his “casual virtuosity on piano.”
He continues as pianist of the San Francisco Symphony throughout the orchestra’s 2026–2027 season while taking the solo spotlight for two signature concerto engagements. He gives the Bay Area premiere of Caroline Shaw’s piano concerto Watermark with conductor Ming Luke and the Berkeley Community Chorus & Orchestra on January 8–10, 2027, and returns as soloist in Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the San Francisco Philharmonic in April 2027.
Wilson’s work ranges from traditional concert halls to unexpected venues. He brought classical piano to the tech world, performing live on the main stage of World Summit AI USA. His solo artistry shone in a sold-out Carnegie Hall collaboration with The Chamber Orchestra of New York featuring Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9. Concerto highlights included appearances at the Midsummer Mozart Festival’s 2025 season playing Mozart’s 23rd Piano Concerto with conductor Ryan Murray.
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. He performed on two GRAMMY-winning San Francisco Symphony recordings: Meditations on Rilke (2021) and Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater (2024).
Wilson has partnered with violinists Joshua Bell and Itzhak Perlman, and singers Frederica von Stade, Sasha Cooke, Bernadette Peters, and Michael Feinstein. A committed educator and mentor, Wilson serves as Principal Vocal Coach on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He earned his Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Graduate Performance Diploma in solo piano performance at the Peabody Conservatory, and spent formative years with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas.
A passionate advocate for new work, Wilson has premiered scores by Michael Tilson Thomas, John Adams, Steve Reich, Gabriela Lena Frank, and Timo Andres. John Wilson is a Steinway Artist.