Conrad Tao is “the kind of musician who is shaping the future of classical music” according to New York Magazine, and an artist of “probing intellect and open-hearted vision” (The New York Times). This young composer/pianist has lived a life steeped in great music of all kinds. He learned to read perusing the notes to recordings by Celine Dion, Paula Abdul, and ABBA, among others. His program is rooted in his fascination with Rachmaninoff’s relationship to popular music. “All of this got me excited about a fairly different take on a Rachmaninoff program. I wasn’t particularly interested in just playing the sonatas,” he told Bachtrack.