Gabriel Sanchez

Keyboard (Classical)

Jeanne R. Johnson Chair

Gabriel Sánchez is on the keyboard staff of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Fabio Luisi and has collaborated with principal DSO musicians, including Concertmasters, Alexander Kerr and Nathan Olson.

Sánchez was a top prize winner in the 1997 Casablanca International Piano Competition in Morocco and is a laureate of other international competitions, including the Marguerite Long in Paris (France), the Gina Bachauer in Salt Lake City (USA), and the Paloma O’ Shea in Santander (Spain). He has performed throughout the United States and internationally in recital and as soloist with orchestra, including performances at Pianofest in the Hamptons, New York, with the Dallas Symphony under Kerry-Lynn Wilson and the Orquesta Filarmonica de Jalisco and the Irving Symphony under Hector Guzman.

Robert Carlos Contreras Roman, Mexican music critic, wrote that Sanchez performed with “gran passion y expresividad estilistica.” In London, he performed at the Royal Academy of Music, in Paris at the Salle Gaveau, in Santander, Spain at the Palacio de Festivales, in Casablanca, Morocco at the Salle de l’Office des Changes, and in the Dominican Republic with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional. In Thessaloniki, Greece, he performed a solo recital to benefit Lions Club International.

He studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music under a full scholarship and continued his studies at the University of North Texas under his beloved teacher and mentor, Vladimir Viardo, 1973 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist.

Sánchez is in high demand as a collaborative pianist and has partnered in recitals with Stanislav Katenin (principal bassoon, National Philharmonic of Russia), Gordon Hunt (principal oboe, Philharmonia Orchestra, London), Jacques Zoon (former Principal Flute, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam), Mark Nuccio (Associate Principal Clarinet, New York Philharmonic) and Paul Edmond Davies (former Principal Flute, London Symphony Orchestra), as well as world renowned artists Gary Schocker, Alexa Still, Marco Granados, Thomas Robertello, Rolf Smedvig, Ian Clarke, Mike Mower and Jean Ferrandis.

MSR CD releases, all received with critical acclaim, include Ballade, Works for Flute and Piano (with Kara Kirkendoll Welch, flutist), Scree (with Elena Yarritu, flutist) and Rêver en Couleurs (with Lisa Garner Santa, flutist). Recent reviews include: Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News, “Sánchez dispatched [the Nielsen Flute Concerto piano reduction] with such èlan that it sounded utterly idiomatic,” Carla Rees, Music Web International, “[he] plays with wonderful sensitivity,” and American Record Guide, “…Sánchez is superb.”

Mr. Sánchez is also a dedicated educator. He taught piano, music history, music theory and accompanying at the celebrated Booker T. Washington High School for the Arts in Dallas from 1996-2003. He maintains a select private piano studio and has been involved with DSO educational outreach programs. He has also served on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music in the Mountains in Durango, Colorado.