Tonya Lemoh

Australian/Sierra Leonean pianist Tonya Lemoh is known for her focus on unusual and exotic repertoire. She made her name on the international scene with her ground-breaking recording for Chandos of solo piano works by Austrian composer Joseph Marx.

Praised by Gramophone magazine and All Music Guide, her concert appearances and recordings have since consistently garnered critical acclaim. Lemoh has won several international awards, including First Prizes in the ‘21st century Art Competition’ (International Association of Art and Education in the 21st Century, Helsingor 2003), and the Royal Academy of Music (Aarhus) Concerto Competition, and a Diplôme d’honneur in the International Edvard Grieg Piano Competition. Her recording of Svend Erik Tarp’s piano works was awarded one of Denmark’s most prestigious national music awards, the Danish Radio prize for best solo disc of the year. Other recordings include Harmonies du Soir, Grotesque, (with pianist Jeanell Carrigan) The Golden Age and Souvenirs (Copenhagen Piano Duo), and Rags, Bags and Tangos (with clarinettist Deborah De Graaff).

Lemoh holds performance degrees from conservatoriums in Australia, the US and Denmark, and completed doctoral studies at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music, Australia. A keen interpreter of new music, she has performed in international new music festivals in Australia and throughout Scandinavia. She was a lecturer on the piano faculty of the University of Copenhagen for ten years. Lemoh has performed and recorded for ABC Radio, Danish National Radio and Danish television.