Ursula Oppens is one of the few pianists before the public today who has won equal renown as an interpreter of the established repertoire and a champion of contemporary music. Her performances of music old and new are marked by a powerful grasp of the composer's musical intentions and an equally sure command of the keyboard's resources; qualities placing her in the ranks of the world's foremost interpreters.

In the 2007/08 season, Ms. Oppens, a friend and colleague of Elliott Carter, celebrates his 100th Birthday with performances of his complete music of solo piano at New York City's Symphony Space. In other 07/08 highlights, Ms. Oppens performed the world premiere of William Bolcolm's "Ballade" at the newly re-opened Merkin Hall; and is featured at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's renowned Green Umbrella Festival on March 25, performing Elliott Carter's "Dialogues" and the world premiere of Harold Meltzer's new piano concerto.

Ms. Oppens has performed with virtually all of the world's major orchestras. In previous seasons she has been heard with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the American Composers Orchestra, and the orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland, San Francisco, and Milwaukee. Abroad, she has appeared with such orchestras as the Berlin Symphony, Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, the Deutsche Symphonie, the Scottish BBC and the London Philharmonic Orchestras. She has also played at the Aspen, Tanglewood, Santa Fe, Edinburgh, Bath and Holland Festivals, among others.

An enduring commitment to integrating new music into regular concert life has led Ms. Oppens to commission and premiere many compositions, including works by Anthony Braxton, Elliott Carter, Anthony Davis, John Harbison, Julius Hemphill, Tania Leon, György Ligeti, Witold Lutoslawski, Conlon Nancarrow, Tobias Picker, Frederic Rzewski, Alvin Singleton, Joan Tower, Lois V Vierk, Christian Wolff, Amnon Wolman, and Charles Wuorinen.

A co-founder of Speculum Musicae, Ms. Oppens has an extensive recording catalogue and can be heard on Angel, Arista, Audivis, BMG, Bridge, CBS Masterworks, CP2, CRI, De Note, Koch International Classics, Music and Arts, Vanguard, New Albion, New World, Nonesuch, and Watt Works. She received two Grammy nominations: for her Vanguard recording of Frederic Rzewski's "The People United Will Never Be Defeated," and for "American Piano Music of Our Time," a classic compilation of piano works by 20th century American composers for the Music & Arts label. The latter was also named in John Rockwell's "Best of the Year" survey for The New York Times, along with her recording for New World Records of Elliott Carter's Piano Concerto. Ms. Oppens's recent releases include a disc of chamber music by Elliott Carter with the Arditti Quartet on the Audivis label and Charles Wuorinen's Piano Quintet on Koch International Classics. Other recordings include Joan Tower's Piano Concerto on De Note Records; Rzewski's "Night Crossing with Fishermen" and a disc of Schoenberg's vocal music with soprano Phyllis Bryn-Julson, both for Music and Arts; and the Brahms Viola Sonatas with Barbara Westphal on Bridge Records.

Throughout her career Ms. Oppens has played at many of the world's major festivals, including those in Aspen, Tanglewood, Santa Fe, Ojai, Music Academy of the West, Edinburgh, Bonn, Cabrillo, Stresa, Bath, Bergamo, Brescia, Japan, and the Holland Festival. She has also been heard in recital and concerto performances at many European music centers, including the South Bank Center and the BBC Broadcasting House in London, the Vienna Radio Orchestra, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, and in Stockholm, Brussels, Geneva, and Bonn.

Ursula Oppens studied piano with her mother, the late Edith Oppens, as well as with Leonard Shure and Guido Agosti. She received her master's degree at The Juilliard School, where she studied with Felix Galimir and Rosina Lhévinne. As an undergraduate at Radcliffe College, she studied English literature and economics. A native New Yorker, Ms. Oppens made her New York debut at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1969 under the auspices of Young Concert Artists. She won first prize in the Busoni International Piano Competition that same year, and was awarded the loma d'onore the Accademia Chigiana in 1970. In 1976 she won an Avery Fisher Career Grant, which led to a performance with the New York Philharmonic. Ms. Oppens, who was appointed John Evans Distinguished Professor of Music at Northwestern University in 1994, divides her time between Evanston, IL and New York City.

(January 2008. Please discard any undated or previously dated materials.)