Ellen Jansson - Pianist

Ellen Jansson has emerged as one of Ireland’s most versatile pianists and collaborators, appearing as soloist with orchestras including the New York Concerti Sinfonietta, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Esker Festival Orchestra, and the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, while also maintaining an active career as a chamber musician and recitalist throughout Europe.

Under the guidance of Mary Beattie at Cork School of Music, Ellen graduated first in her class and Taught MA Student-of-the-Year in 2020 before continuing her studies in collaborative piano with Barbara Moser at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. She is also a past pupil of Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, where she was the winner of the Chetham’s Yamaha Piano Competition. Further accolades include the Flax Trust bursary at Clandeboye Festival 2016, the Cork Orchestral Society Emerging Artist Award and second prize in the Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year 2018.

An avid chamber musician, Ellen’s collaborations have included performances with the ConTempo String Quartet, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Ficino Ensemble, Kirkos Ensemble, Vienna Ensemble, and the Winds of Change Quintet, and she has performed at the New Ross Piano Festival, Westport Chamber Music Festival, Clandeboye Festival, Killaloe Chamber Music Festival, Ortús Chamber Music Festival, Festspillene i Tønsberg, Waterford Chamber Music Festival, and the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival. Her performance with flautist Miriam Kaczor at the Castleconnell Autumn Concert Series was recorded for national broadcast by RTÉ Lyric FM. 

In 2024, she was selected for a month-long residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where she performed with José Franch-Ballester, Beverley Johnston, and Joel Brennan. Ellen performed alongside tenor Mark Padmore on Gare St Lazare Ireland’s production of The Last Tape, which premiered at Kilkenny Arts Festival in August 2026. As a répétiteur she has worked for the International Music Academy Orpheus, Hans Staud Music Award, Oper Burg Gars, and ProChoro Wien, and on productions of Ravel L’enfant et les sortilèges, and Mozart Le nozze di Figaro. She was chosen for the Wexford Festival Opera Factory Programme in 2026.

A passionate advocate for the performance and promotion of music written by women, she has appeared several times at the ‘Finding a Voice’ Festival since its launch in 2018, including curating and performing a concert of solo and chamber works by Canadian composer Alexina Louie in 2019, and giving the first complete Irish performance of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Das Jahr in 2021.

Ellen is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Music Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music under the guidance of Hugh Tinney, as an 1848 Scholar and recipient of the SALT Bursary. Since 2020, she is the Coach Accompanist to the MA in String Performance at the University of Limerick.