Leon Bernsdorf

Leon Bernsdorf (*1992 in Hamburg, Germany) received his first piano lessons at the age of five. Already one year later, he received a scholarship by the Hamburg youth music foundation, and as taught by the renowned piano pedagogue, Carol Tainton. In 2007, Leon became a pre-college student at the HfMT Hamburg under the tutelage of Prof. Volker Banfield. After his graduation, he continued his studies with Prof. Boaz Sharon at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts. He received his Bachelor degree “cum laude” in May 2014. Since fall 2014, Leon is studying with Prof. Pavel Nersessian at Boston University, pursuing a Masters Degree. In addition to his studies he participated in master classes by Karl-Heinz Kaemmerling, John Perry, John O’Connor, and Ian Hobson. At the age of six, Leon participated in the renowned German youth competition “Jugend musiziert” for the first time. In the following years, he reached enormous success in various categories of the contest and in other competitions, including a first prize at the Grotrian Steinweg Competition, and a first prize at the Steinway Competition in Hamburg. In 2007 and 2008, Leon won first prizes on the federal level of “Jugend Musizert”, for which he was granted a scholarship by the “Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben” In November 2010, Leon won the second prize at the “Dedication to Ferenc Liszt” Competition at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, playing Rachmaninoff’s second concerto in the final round. As a result of this success, Leon was granted various performances throughout Europe, including appearances at the international music festivals in Bergamo and Verona, Italy. In April 2014, Leon won the “Richmond Piano Competition” at Boston University, which was followed by a solo recital at the Tsai Performance Center.