Leo Gevisser – 2024

Based in New York City, 22-year-old pianist-composer Leo Gevisser received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the Juilliard School with academic honors in May 2024—under the mentorship of Jerome Lowenthal.

Raised in Cape Town, Leo remains deeply connected to South Africa. Throughout his career: he has performed concertos with all of South Africa’s major orchestras—including the Cape Town Philharmonic, KZNPO Philharmonic, and Johannesburg Philharmonic—as well as multi-city solo recital tours across the country. He will perform as a soloist with the Mzanzi Philharmonic Orchestra in a three-city tour at the end of this year.

In 2017, Leo moved to Cleveland, Ohio to further his music studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Young Artist’s Program, before moving to New York City in 2020 to continue his studies at the Juilliard School. There, he received the First Prize at the Miesczysław Munz Scholarship Competition. In New York, he has been invited to perform recitals as part of the Sparkill Recital Series in New York for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons. He has also been invited to perform in venues such as the Yale School of Music’s New Music New Haven series, as well as Harvard College for a public fundraiser concert organized by the Leon Fleisher Academy.

As an active composer and sound artist, Leo has been invited to premiere compositions and electronic sets at places such as LittleGig in South Africa, the highSCORE Festival for Contemporary Composition in Italy, and the Juilliard School.

Leo has had a deep affinity for many genres of today’s music throughout his life: from contemporary classical & experimental electronic—to pop, folk, and alternative rock. What initiated his choice from a young age to pursue careers in performing piano, composing & producing, is the sheer range of ways in which people perceive sounds in today’s age: whether it be the sound of the piano acoustically & electronically, or the infinite possibilities of sound design & natural sonic environments. Immersing oneself in these possibilities, but also searching for a pure, concentrated artistic self, is fundamental to him.

In November 2024, at the 16th International piano competition of Orléans (France), he won the Caisse des Dépôts Second Prize, the Elliott Carter Prize, the Audience Prize and the Henri Dutilleux – Geneviève Joy residency.

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2024 Prizes:

Caisse des Dépôts 2nd Prize

Elliott Carter Prize

Public Prize

Henri Dutilleux – Geneviève Joy Residency

Photo credit: ©J.B Millot