A passionate solo and chamber musician with an unceasing curiosity for music from the 18th century to today, pianist Ariel Mo brings “an exceptional courage to confront the unknown, and unborn ideas and sounds” to every project. Most recently, Ariel has performed in Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Germany in venues such as Jordan Hall, Residenz Munich, the Cutler Majestic Theatre, and Spectrum NYC; upcoming recitals in 2023 will include works by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Messiaen, Schoenberg, Stockhausen, and a solo commission from Chicago-based composer Dongryul Lee.

As a collaborator, Ariel loves the intimacy of chamber music and is working on recording Ives’ four violin sonatas with violinist Grant Houston. She has been a fellow at Norfolk New Music, the Holland International Music Sessions, Bang On A Can, Orford Musique, and New Music On the Point, among many others, and has performed for composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Chaya Czernowin, Amy Beth Kirsten, Michael Finnissy, and Derek Bermel. In May 2023, alongside a team of East Coast artists, she will present WATERx, a multimedia installation examining our irrevocable relationship with water through a dual-lens of psychology and ecology. The event will feature five world premieres of works for small ensemble drawing on a variety of styles in contemporary music next to an exhibition of digital and mixed-media artwork by Haran Kim.

Ariel studies in the Graduate Diploma program with Stephen Drury at Boston’s New England Conservatory, where she previously received B.M. and M.M. degrees in piano performance and music history. Her work has been generously supported by the Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation, NEC Entrepreneurial Musicianship, and the Tan Family Scholarship, and she is particularly grateful to her past mentors, pianists Kenneth Broadway and Ralph Markham, Bruce Brubaker, Victor Rosenbaum, and musicologist Dr. Ellen Exner.