For their next concert, the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra will welcome acclaimed Canadian pianist Sheng Cai for a program titled The Nordic Experience. Two Nordic masterpieces of the classical music repertoire are on the menu on March 28.
Cai is a musician with an international reputation for his artistry and stage presence. He’ll be performing Edvard Grieg’s moving Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39, rounds out the program.
“This program brings together two cornerstone works of the Nordic repertoire,” said Denis Mastromonaco, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra in a statement.
“Grieg’s Piano Concerto remains a favourite with audiences and performers alike, while Sibelius’ First Symphony is a bold and compelling early work from the composer. We’re especially pleased to welcome Sheng Cai, whose artistry and international experience adds brilliance to this program.”
Sheng Cai performs Edvard Grieg’s Ballade in G minor, Op. 24, Folkelevsbilder in 2022:
Pianist Sheng Cai
Sheng Cai began studying piano at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music and at the Juilliard School’s pre-college division in New York. He later earned a Bachelor of Music degree at The New England Conservatory under a full scholarship.
As a teenage artist, he garnered many top prize wins at a number of competitions, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Competition (Concours OSM), Toronto Symphony Piano Competition, the International Young Artists Competition of Colorado, and the Bay State Competition in Boston. He was also the youngest finalist and a special prize winner at the Bosendorfer International Piano Competition in the US.
Sheng was recently nominated for the 2025 Oskar Morowetz Award for Excellence in Music Performance by the Ontario Arts Council.
As a concert pianist, he has performed more than 35 piano concertos from Mozart to 21st century repertoire as a guest soloist with more than 60 orchestras worldwide. His performing career has seen him share the stage with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony, Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Quebec Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Canton Symphony of Ohio, Shanghai Symphony, Shenzhen Symphony, in Germany with Nuremberg Symphoniker, Erfurt Philharmonic, Sinfornieorchester Aachen, Philharmonie Sudwestfalen, Oldenburgisches Staatsorchester, with the Orchestre National de Cannes in France, Biel Solothurn Symphony of Switzerland, Armenian National Philharmonic, Krakow Philharmonic of Poland, North Bohemian Philharmonic of Czech Republic, and Malaga Philharmonic of Spain, among many others.
As a solo recitalist, he’s performed across North America and Europe, including concerts at the Steinway Hall in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, Chicago’s International Music Center, the Cleveland Play House, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, the Alys Stephens Centre in Birmingham, CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, and many others.
Cai also enjoys performing as a chamber musician, and has collaborated with the Enso String Quartet and Pamina Quartet.
As a recording artist, he has released albums of music by Mozart and Martinu for the CBC, and on the Atma Classique label, works by Schumann, Liszt, Grieg, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. His performances have been broadcast across Canada and beyond.
The Concert
The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra is one of Canada’s leading hybrid orchestras. It incorporates both professional and high level amateur musicians under the direction of Maestro Denis Mastromonaco. Mastromonaco has led the orchestra in engaging and ambitious concerts, thoughtfully programmed and presented.
Including the Mississauga Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2014, the organization forms one of the major cornerstones of cultural life in Mississauga, committed to community engagement and education along with performance.
The Nordic Experience takes place on March 28 at the Living Arts Centre.
- Find tickets and show details [HERE].
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- PREVIEW | The Mississauga Symphony Orchestra Welcomes Canadian Pianist Sheng Cai - March 20, 2026
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