Hailed as “ter-RIFF-ic!” by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and “a technically gifted young virtuoso” (Chestnut Hill Local, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), pianist Noah Alden Hardaway is forging a multifaceted career as far afield as Spain, Sardinia and Lithuania, as well as Canada and the United States. Enthusiastic reception for Noah’s appearances has led to frequent reengagements. He is a regular on the festival circuit, appearing at over a dozen including Pianofest in the Hamptons, Art of the Piano in Cincinnati, and two summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School, where he performed as soloist with the Aspen Sinfonia Concertante. In the 2021/22 season, Noah gave his Philadelphia debut, won first prize at the Mary Graham Lasley Scholarship Competition associated with the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, and received the Outstanding Performance in Piano Award from Shenandoah University. In May 2023 he made his debut as conductor-pianist. He was also a finalist in the Houston Symphony League Concerto Competition and the 2019 Frances Walton Competition in Seattle. He has performed on WUSF 89.7 FM and appeared in the Houston Chronicle as well as the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Winchester Star, and Texas Signal. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Noah gave many livestreamed concerts and lecture-recitals as well as performances in seven U.S. states. He frequently performs in and around Washington, D.C., under the auspices of the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and recently had a recital and masterclass residency at Washington and Lee University.

An avid chamber musician, Noah has given concert tours with Louisiana Philharmonic assistant principal cellist Daniel Lelchuk, Hong Kong-based pianist Shelley Ng, and performances with Byron Jones, professor of voice at Shenandoah University. In 2023 Noah joined forces with violinist Emily Ilyes and cellist Isabel Dimoff to form ein trio.

Noah works as assistant head of piano at tonebase, a startup company producing innovative and high-quality teaching videos featuring the world’s top musicians. He is co-director and faculty at their inaugural 2024 tonebase Piano Camp. He has a passion for curating unconventional projects, including assembling large student ensembles, hosting radio programs, and leading interdisciplinary performances. At Shenandoah University’s first ShenCoLAB, Noah received a grant to direct and perform in the Virginia premiere of Schnittke/Kandinsky’s Der gelbe Klang (The yellow sound). Noah serves as assistant to the director and chairman of Pianofest in the Hamptons, is board secretary at the Adamant Music School in Vermont, and has taught piano at the Wakefield School in Virginia.

Since 2014, Noah has studied intensively with Moscow Conservatory artists Vadym Kholodenko, Sergei Glavatskih and Pavel Nersessian, and his senior thesis is the first English-language exploration of Vera Gornostaeva’s life and work: a transformative approach to the art of teaching in the grand tradition of Heinrich Neuhaus. Noah graduated magna cum laude from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music with Distinction in Research and Creative Works. Legendary Irish pianist and Beethoven interpreter John O’Conor has been a mentor since 2012, and after completing a master’s degree with Dr. O’Conor at Shenandoah University in 2021, Noah began working towards a doctorate in his studio as a full scholarship recipient.