Canadian pianist Cindy Thong leads a polyvalent career as a pedagogue, researcher and pianist. She has performed throughout Canada, in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain and Italy and has also been a finalist and prizewinner in numerous competitions including the Concours Hélène-Roberge, FCMF National Piano Competition and the Canadian Music Competition. Additionally, she was the recipient of the 2009 Debut Atlantic Award for Musical Excellence as well as the 2018 Tietje Zonneveld Award from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.

Recent performance highlights include recitals as part of the Orford Music Festival, Cecilia Concerts and Jeunesses Musicales “Emerging Artists” Series, in addition to the integral of György Ligeti’s piano etudes presented by various pianists in Studio Ernest-Ansermet in Geneva, Switzerland. As an orchestral pianist,Cindy has also collaborated with numerous ensembles such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Cindy is currently a doctoral candidate at the Université de Montréal under the supervision of Jimmy Brière. With a keen interest in performance psychology and mental skills training, her dissertation research pertains to the neuropsychology of learning and the optimization of practice methods. She has been invited to lecture about these topics at the post-secondary level and continues to expand this interdisciplinary work in collaboration with other domains, including research for arts and health interventions. She also holds a Master of Arts in Music Performance from the Haute École de Musique de Genève in Switzerland where she worked closely with the late Dominique Weber, as well as an Artist Diploma, Master of Music and Bachelor of Music from the former institution.

Having participated in numerous festivals and master classes throughout North America and Europe – notably at the Gijón International Piano Festival, the Wiener Musikseminar, the Euro Music Festival, the Banff Centre, the Orford Arts Centre and the Domaine Forget International Music Academy – Cindy has also worked closely with artists such as Robert MacDonald, Jacques Rouvier, Bernd Goetzke, Dang Thai Son, Stephen Kovacevich, Ronan O’Hora, Marc Durand, Benedetto Lupo, Alexander Kobrin, Evelyne Brancart and Dalton Baldwin, among others.

Currently based in Halifax, Cindy is an Applied Instructor at Acadia University and also maintains a dynamic private studio in addition to her performance and research activities.