Founded in 1991, the Keyboard Charitable Trust’s mission is to help young keyboard players reduce the element of chance in building a professional musical career. The Trust identifies the most talented young performers (aged 18-30) and assists their development by offering them opportunities to perform throughout the world. For the most gifted, this means débuts in London, New York, Rome and other music capitals.
In collaboration with its partners worldwide, the Keyboard Trust has developed a circuit of some fifty venues in seven principal countries, from the most prestigious concert halls to locations where classical music is rarely heard. Over the past thirty-four years, the Trust has presented over 300 young international pianists, historic keyboard players and organists in over 900 concerts worldwide.
With such notable musicians as the late Claudio Abbado, Alfred Brendel and Evgeny Kissin among its Trustees, this formula has proved its worth: many Trust artists receive an offer of a new engagement, a broadcast, a recording or management. Nearly half of the artists have subsequently made serious professional musical careers.
Recent years have seen a further expansion of the Trust’s work in Germany, Italy and France as well as in the USA where the late Lorin Maazel invited the Trust to present its artists at his Festival Theatre in Virginia.
A message from Sir Antonio Pappano – Patron
Recent highlights include George X. Fu winning BBC Music Magazine’s Newcomer Award for his album ‘Mirrors’ in 2024; Giovanni Bertolazzi being awarded the 43rd Liszt Ferenc International Grand Prix du Disque, Budapest in 2024; Magdalene Ho winning the 2023 Clara Haskil International Piano Competition and the 2024 International German Piano Award; Mikhail Kambarov winning the Trapani International Piano Competition in 2024; Sasha Doronin winning the Hong Kong International Piano Competition in 2025; Vitaly Pisarenko being made a Professor at the RCM in 2025; and Emanuil Ivanov being made the first Sulamita Aronovsky Laureate at the RAM in 2025.
The Keyboard Charitable Trust is funded entirely by voluntary donations. Detailed information about the Trust, how to become a Friend, join the One Thousand Club or to provide corporate support, may be found elsewhere on our website.
Artistic Direction is given by Dr Leslie Howard and Dr Elena Vorotko (who specialises in performers on historical instruments) and Christopher Axworthy. The Trust’s regional representation is based on Moritz von Bredow in Germany, Christopher Axworthy, the well-known presenter and broadcaster Valentina Lo Surdo in Italy, and Caroline von Reitzenstein in New York.
Geoffrey Shindler OBE from Manchester succeeded John Leech MBE as Chairman of the Trustees in 2013.
Chief Executive, Sarah Biggs, was appointed in 2013 and Senior Executive, Richard Thomas, was appointed in 2019.
