Pianist Emil Gryesten (b. 1985) was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, with further studies at the Como International Piano Academy in Italy. Among his teachers are prominent pianists such as Erik Tawaststjerna, Eero Heinonen, Dmitri Bashkirov, Fou Ts’ong, and William Grant Naboré. As a 15-year-old, he won first prize at the Steinway Competition in Hamburg and a gold medal at Berlingske Tidende’s Classical Music Competition in Copenhagen. In 2010, he won both the first prize and the Audience Prize at the Nordic Pianist Competition at Nyborg Castle. During his time as a student at the Sibelius Academy, he also won first prize at Finland’s National Piano Competition in Jyväskylä in 2010, and he also received the first prize at the Blüthner Pianist Competition in Malmö in 2006. Emil played his first solo recital as a 15-year-old and has since then had an active concert career both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He made his debut as a soloist with orchestra as a 16-year-old, with Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. He has performed at classical music festivals such as the Copenhagen Summer Festival, Aarhus Piano Festival, Hindsgavl Festival, and Espo Piano Festival and Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland, Blüthner Classics in Leipzig, International Piano Association Switzerland’s concert series in Lugano, and in the summer of 2018 in Carnegie Hall in New York.