Jason Sia, Pianist
Concert pianist Jason Sia has performed extensively across the United States, Asia, South and Central America, and Europe, earning acclaim for his eloquently expressive interpretations and seamless technique. His performances—praised for emotional depth, tonal beauty, and artistic refinement—have captivated audiences worldwide. The Georgetown Gazette and Placerville Mountain Democrat described him as “the brilliant Sacramento pianist with flawless technique that mesmerized and entranced a rapt audience with his graceful, powerful, beautifully fluid, and emotionally charged performance.” The New York Piano Group noted his “expressive, flowing playing with deep tone and continuity of line,” while Eduard Laurel from the New York University and The Juilliard School wrote that he “played with limpid touch and touching repose, winning his audience with sensitivity, tenderness, passion, and commitment.”
Mr. Sia performs regularly as a recitalist, chamber musician, and collaborative pianist. His recent solo concert engagements include the well-known Old First Concerts, Performances at the Presidio, and The Forte House Concert Series in San Francisco, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., The Renaissance Society of Sacramento, Music at Noon, and the Crocker Art Museum Classical Concert Series, and the Performances at Pioneer in Sacramento, the Haggin Museum Concert Series in Stockton, the Trinity Chamber Concert Series in Berkeley, the Manteca Kindred Arts Concert Association, the St. James Concert Series in Sonora, Music on the Divide Concert Series in Georgetown, the Friends of Music Concert Series in Pasadena, the Piedmont Center for the Arts Concert Series, the St. Paul Concert Series and Grace Presbyterian Concert Series in Walnut Creek.
His repertoire ranges from the Baroque works of Bach, Soler, Handel, and Scarlatti, through the Classical era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, to the Romantic masterpieces of Schubert, Liszt, Brahms, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Schumann, and Rachmaninoff, and the 20th-century music of Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Bartók, Copland, Corigliano, Ives, Ligeti, Bolcom, and Gershwin.
Mr. Sia serves as pianist for the Sacramento Valley Concert Choir and received a California Legislature Assembly Resolution in 2019 honoring his 15 years of artistic contributions. A sought-after collaborative pianist, he has performed with members of the Sacramento Philharmonic, Auburn Symphony, Folsom Lake Symphony, CSUS Symphony, and the Camellia Symphony Orchestra, as well as opera artists from the Sacramento Opera and Sacramento State University Opera Theater, including winners of the Metropolitan Opera Western Region.
As an educator, Mr. Sia has adjudicated numerous piano competitions. His students have won national and international awards and have performed at Carnegie Hall and across Europe. He is a member of the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program, Music Teachers’ Association of California, California Association of Professional Music Teachers, Music Teachers’ National Association, the National Guild of Piano Teachers, and the American College of Musicians.
He began piano studies at age six and received formal training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Music School and Festival. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Piano Performance at California State University, Sacramento, studying with Dr. Gene Savage and Dr. Lorna Peters, and graduating cumlaude. He has performed at Carnegie Hall and participated in master classes with distinguished artists such as Louis Lortie, Gilbert Kalish, Minoru Nojima, Thomas Schumacher, Leon Fleisher, Gabriel Chodos, John McCarthy, and Olivier Cazal. Internationally, Mr. Sia has appeared at the Colmar International Music Festival in France, the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Korean National University of Arts, and the University of the Philippines Conservatory of Music. He is the Grand Prix Winner of the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Piano Competition, with performances at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
At California State University, Sacramento, he was inducted into the Phi Kappa Lambda International Music Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key International Honour Society, and Mu Phi Epsilon International Professional Music Fraternity. He received music scholarships each semester and was awarded the distinguished CSUS Faculty Merit Scholarship for academic excellence. His passion for contemporary music earned him three awards from the Festival of New American Music (FENAM).