"There's an openhearted sincerity ... and a pervasive sense of personal investment ... Larson offer[ed] a soaring, anthemic rendition that I find quite moving ... great warmth and a fine sense of spaciousness ... subtle and elegant."

--Fanfare

 

At the age of two, Kaden Larson was struck with a severely crippling case of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis in his hands and feet. The piano served, initially, as a therapeutic activity to fight the disease. What began as a trial became a triumph. From the age of four he studied piano with Tricia West, and additionally credits his angelically patient mother for many of the early victories. Since then, Kaden has also had opportunities to study with accomplished pianists Chad Schumacher and Dr. Stephen Beus, and was a student of Dr. Scott Holden for ten years. 

 

Kaden is an avid recitalist who regularly performs throughout his home state of Utah, and has performed in locations throughout the United States and Europe. He has performed either as soloist or pianist with the Lyceum Repertory Orchestra of American Fork, Oquirrh Mountain Symphony, Utah Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Brigham Young University, BYU Philharmonic, the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, and the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, among others. 

 

Kaden earned his BM at Brigham Young University, during which time he also spent a term of music study in Vienna, Austria. Kaden served as the president of the BYU Collegiate Chapter of the Music Teachers’ National Association for two years, and is currently serving as the vice president of the Indiana University collegiate chapter. He has enjoyed the opportunity to present at the MTNA Piano Pedagogy Symposium several times, as well as the Utah Music Teachers’ Association state conference. A founding member of the Ensign Piano Quartet and the consonari ensemble (sponsored by the Collaborative Musicians’ Project, a non-profit based in Seattle), Kaden is also a choral enthusiast, and is active as a collaborative pianist, organist, composer/arranger, and passionate teacher.

 

Kaden has been either a prizewinner or finalist in the MTNA Stecher and Horowitz Two Piano Competition, Brancaleoni International Online Piano Competition, Neapolitan Masters Competition, Tkaczewski International Piano Competition, Helen Taylor Johannesen International Piano Competition, MTNA Young Artist Division in both Utah and Indiana, UMTA Concerto Competition, and the International Great Composers Competition Series. He earned his masters degree at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with Norman Krieger, where he works as an Associate Instructor and was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. Kaden continues now as a doctoral student of Professor Krieger. He hopes to continue using music to promote faith, compassion, beauty, and a greater appreciation for the joys and struggles that bring us closer together.

 

When he's not locked away in a practice room, Kaden enjoys skiing, hiking, and generally breaking the fourth wall. He and his wife Anna are happily employed as domestic help for a loquacious orange tabby named Apollo.