Gary Beecher 

International award-winning pianist Gary Beecher is one of Ireland’s most sought-after pianists, with a varied career as a soloist, vocal accompanist, chamber musician, conductor and educator.

 

As a collaborative pianist, Gary has had several international competition successes with regular duo partner soprano Erika Baikoff (current BBC New Generation Artist), including 1st Prize at the International Nadia and Lili Boulanger Voice-Piano Competition (France), the Rudolf Jansen Pianist Prize at the 53rd International Vocal Competition LiedDuo (Netherlands), and 2nd Pianist Prize at the International Helmut Deutsch Song Competition (Austria). 

 

Other singers Gary collaborates regularly with include BBC new generation artists: Irish mezzo soprano Niamh O’Sullivan, Russian/American soprano Erika Baikoff and Canadia/Macedonian mezzo soprano Ema Nikolovska; as well as Irish tenor Gavan Ring and Scottish tenor Liam Bonthrone. Recent performance highlights include Wigmore Hall, Barbican Centre, Holywell Music Room (Oxford Lieder), St George’s Bristol, and Elgar Concert Hall Birmingham.

 

As a soloist, Gary was a past winner of the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year among several other national awards. He continues to perform regularly as a concerto soloist with both the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and RTÉ Concert Orchestra and has also performed with Camerata Ireland & Southbank Sinfonia London as an orchestral pianist. Venues he has performed in include the National Concert Hall (Dublin), Cork Opera House, as well all other major venues in Ireland and the UK.

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Gary made his professional conducting debut at the Cork Opera House Proms in 2025, conducting the largest-ever Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra, and conducted the world premiere cine-concert of Irish film Stupid August with score by John O’Brien. He is also conductor and co-director of the MTU Cork School of Music Opera Lab.

Upcoming engagements include conducting a newly formed orchestral collaboration between the Irish Chamber Orchestra and Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra for contemporary opera The Lament for Art O'Leary by Irene Buckley, featuring soprano soloists Kim Sheehan and Emma Nash.

 

Radio broadcasts both as a soloist and vocal accompanist include live and recorded performances on BBC Radio Three, Classic FM, RTÉ Radio One and RTÉ Lyric FM.

 

Gary trained at the MTU Cork School of Music, University of the Arts Berlin and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama London. While at Guildhall, Gary studied with Julius Drake, Charles Owen, and Eugene Asti. He was winner of the Guildhall Accompaniment Prize, the Franz Schubert Lieder Prize among others and was later a Guildhall Fellow and staff accompanist. Gary has been a Britten Pears Artist, an Oxford Lieder Young Artist, Samling Artist, and is an alumnus of the Franz-Schubert-Institut in Baden bei Wien. 

 

Gary is now a member of the Keyboard faculty at the MTU Cork School and returns to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama London to give masterclasses. 

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Gary is kindly supported Supported by Music Network’s Music Capital Scheme, funded by the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport. Music Network is funded by The Arts Council