Chosen as ‘One to Watch’ by International Piano Magazine, Iyad’s debut album – Khachaturian Piano Works for BIS Records was described by Gramophone as ‘exhilarating and delivered with perfect clarity’ and ‘an outstanding debut’ by BBC Music Magazine.
Nominated as a 2022 Rising Star Artist by Classic FM, Iyad was a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) International Auditions in 2021.
This autumn BIS release his second album recorded with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Andrew Litton including Khachaturian’s Concerto and Masquerade Suite. During the 2022/23 season he returns to Wigmore Hall, as soloist and chamber musician, and gives recitals in the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham International Piano series, Leicester international Music Festival and Perth Concert Hall. He collaborates with Nicholas Daniel, Jordan Bak and Armand Djikoloum in concerts across the UK, including the Lammermuir Festival, Kettles Yard Cambridge, St. David’s Hall Cardiff, and Leeds International concert series.
In 2022 Iyad co-founded and launched a new specialist music school – the Mashrek Academy of Music, with the Mashrek International School in Amman. The Academy will welcome students from across Jordan, discovering and nurturing a new generation of creators and musicians.
As soloist Iyad has appeared with leading orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester Camerata, European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Cairo and Amman Symphony Orchestras.
Previous concert highlights include recitals at the Brighton Festival, Lake District Summer Music Festival, Bridgewater Hall & Stoller Hall in Manchester (broadcast by BBC Radio 3), Leeds Town Hall, the Laeiszhalle (Hamburg) and Festival Musique D’Abord (France). Further afield he has given recitals at Steinway Hall (New York), Castleton Festival (Virginia) and Dubai Opera House. In 2020 he contributed to a BBC Arabic documentary ‘London Lockdown’, in which he took part as a character and recorded the soundtrack for the music.
Born in Amman, the Jordanian-Palestinian pianist, Iyad studied at Chetham’s School of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where he won the College’s prestigious Gold Medal. He completed his International Artist Diploma at the RNCM in 2019 and in the same year became a City Music Foundation Artist. In 2021 he was made an Associate of the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM). . User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
