Marc Kawwas is a Palestinian pianist currently studying with Helen Krizos at Chetham’s School of Music. He has played at a wide array of recitals, concerts, competitions, and music festivals across both the UK and Palestine.
Born in Bethlehem in 2006, Marc started playing the piano at the age of six. He had a glaring love for music from that young age. In 2019, Marc took part in Chetham’s Piano Summer School. Following which, at the age of 14, Marc completed his studies at the Edward said National Conservatory of Music (ESNCM) and joined Chetham’s School of Music.
Marc is a two-time finalist at the Chopin competition which is annually held at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM). In addition to playing at RNCM’s concert hall and Carole Nash Recital Room, Marc has performed at Chetham’s Stoller hall, Carole Nash hall, and Manchester Cathedral. Marc has also played in many masterclasses with leading pianists from around the world including Kathryn Stott and Gulsin Onay.
Prior to starting his studies in England, Marc gave performances at a wide array of venues in Palestine including the Bethlehem Peace Center, the Walled Off Hotel (Banksy’s Hotel), Naseeb Shaheen Auditorium/Birzeit University, the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music’s branches, and Yabous Cultural Center.
From a young age, Marc was taking part in music competitions. The first of which was The 2016 Palestinian National Chopin Competition for Juniors and Youth in which he won the 1st Prize in the junior category. That was followed by a variety of successes the most notable of which was winning the Concerto Competition held by ESNCM in 2018. This allowed him to play the ‘Romance’ from Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 with The Edward Said Conservatory Orchestra conducted by Pierre-Antoine Marçais.
Marc will give his concerto debut in the UK in October of 2023 at Southwark Cathedral playing Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3 with St Paul’s Sinfonia conducted by Wissam Boustany.
