Pianist Jason Hardink holds the position of Principal Symphony Keyboard/Opera Rehearsal Accompanist at the Utah Symphony and Opera. A native of North Smithfield, Rhode Island Jason attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music, studying piano with Sanford Margolis. Hardink went on to receive his Master of Music in piano performance from Rice University, where he was awarded the Sallie Shepherd Perkins Prize for Best Achievement in Music. He has recently completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree as a student of Brian Connelly, also at Rice. His thesis “Messiaen and Plainchant” explores the varying levels of influence that Gregorian chant exerted on the music of Olivier Messiaen. As a performer he specializes in the music of Olivier Messiaen. Last season he performed the complete Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant-Jésus in cities all over the United States, as well as Des Canyons aux Étoiles… with the Utah Symphony as a part of a festival which celebrated Messiaen’s historic visit to Utah in 1972.

Hardink’s other performing interests range from recital programs given on period instruments to concerts devoted entirely to new music. He has been awarded fellowships at Aspen Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, as well as from the Brown Foundation in Houston. He has performed several concerti with the Utah Symphony, including Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Opus 19, Liszt’s Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, and Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony No. 2, “Age of Anxiety.”

Jason is much sought after as a chamber musician. He has appeared at the Grand Teton Music Festival, Music on the Hill, and the Cascade Head Chamber Music Festival. A strong advocate for new music, he served as the pianist for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble for three seasons. During this time he premiered over 15 works by composers such as Thomas Osborne, Daniel Kellogg, Vache Sharafyan, Pierre Jalbert, and Stefan Freund, and was featured in Curtis Curtis-Smith’s Rhapsodies for bowed piano, as well as Jason Eckardt’s wildly virtuosic concerto A Glimpse Retraced. In Salt Lake City he performs with the Canyonlands New Music Ensemble.

Jason was born/raised in North Smithfield, RI and graduated from North Smithfield High School.