Cherry Wei Ge, piano

Free admission | Donations welcome

Programme

L. Janáçek: Piano Sonata 1.X.1905, “From the Street”
J. S. Bach: French suite no.4 in Eb major, BWV815
O. Messiaen – Catalogue d’Oiseaux, no.2: Le Loriot

St James’s is grateful for the generous support of Rolex for this music programme.

Artist bios

Cherry Ge is a pianist whose vivid artistry and imagination have been shaped by a rich and diverse musical journey. Praised by the Straits Times (Singapore) for her “keen sense of musical story-telling,” and expressive nuance, she is known for her communicative depth and emotional range. Cherry began playing the piano at a young age, making her debut at eight and earning numerous accolades soon after. In 2010, at just ten years old, she achieved the highest score in Singapore’s ABRSM Grade 8 piano exams. Since then, she has performed at major venues including Wigmore Hall, the Southbank Centre, and Cadogan Hall—where she made her concerto debut with conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa—as well as at leading festivals such as Petworth and Chipping Campden.
Recent highlights include performances at Wigmore Hall as part of the Royal Academy of Music Soloist Ensemble under Jonathan Berman. Her forthcoming Wigmore Hall solo recital debut in November 2026 marks an exciting new chapter in her growing international career.
A multi-instrumentalist of unique versatility, Cherry also pursued a professional career as a harpist, performing both as a soloist and orchestral player. She led harp sections in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain among others, and was the winner of numerous international harp competition prizes—experiences that broadened her musical outlook and deepened her interpretive approach. Her foundation across solo, chamber, and orchestral playing informs her distinct pianism—praised by figures such as Julian Lloyd Webber OBE for its “incisive” character and intuitive expression.
Cherry’s artistry has been recognised through numerous awards, including her recent First Prize in the Chung Nung Lee Piano Prize at the Royal Academy of Music and Second Prize at the International Norah Sande Piano Competition. Earlier successes include the Beckenham Young Musician of the Year Prize, First Prize at the Young Pianist of the North International Competition (2011), as well as First Prize and the “Città di Taurisano” award at the 12th European Grand Prize of Music in Italy (2012).
With a passionate interest in contemporary music, Cherry has worked alongside with composers such as Thomas Adès CBE, Sir George Benjamin CBE, and has more recently collaborated as a singer with Dan Trueman on his Cantata in Doublespeak: Olagón. Her musical development has been further shaped by classes with distinguished professors, including Tamara Stefanovich, Megumi Masaki, and Yevgeni Sudbin, among others.
Beyond the stage, she is deeply committed to outreach and community engagement, viewing performances not only as an artistic act but a social one. She regularly works with children as well as organisations in dementia-care settings, and appeared on the CBeebies program Melody and Friends, inspiring young audiences through music and storytelling.
Cherry is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Piano at the Royal Academy of Music where she continues her studies with the Emeritus Head of Keyboard, Christopher Elton. Previously, she studied at The Purcell School of Music, where she won First Prize in all internal competitions and was was generously supported by the Austin and Pilkington Trust. She is now an artist of the Talent Unlimited Foundation.
Shaped by an interdisciplinary path, Cherry recently graduated Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University with a degree in Anthropology. Her training as an anthropologist informs her approach to creating programmes that place classical music in dialogue with wider cultural and social themes, with the aim of making performances a space for reflection and dialogue.

Presented in association with Talent Unlimited