Cindy Thong - Piano
Canadian pianist Cindy Thong leads a polyvalent career as a pedagogue, researcher and performer. She has performed throughout Canada, in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain and Italy, and has also been a finalist and prizewinner in numerous competitions such as the Concours Hélène-Roberge and Canadian Music Competition. She has also made appearances at the Orford Music Festival, Banff Arts Centre, Gijón International Piano Festival and Euro Music Festival, among others.
Alongside her performance and pedagogical activities, Cindy maintains a keen interest in performance psychology and mental skills training. In particular, her dissertation pertained to the neuropsychology of learning and the optimization of practice methods, deconstructing and analyzing models related to enhanced efficiency. She has regularly been invited to lecture and offer workshops on these topics and related subjects at institutions such as the University of British Columbia and York University, as well as the National Conference of the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations. Inspired by the holistic nature of music, Cindy continues to develop this interdisciplinary work in collaboration with other domains, such as research for arts and health interventions.
A passionate music educator, Cindy is a co-founder of Where Music Leads, a collaborative arts initiative dedicated towards promoting career-development resources for aspiring young professionals. She also currently serves as the president of the Nova Scotia Registered Music Teachers’ Association, which is dedicated to expanding professional development resources to teachers and students across the province
Cindy holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Montréal (Canada), where she was also awarded the Prix d’interpretation en piano upon graduation. She also holds a Master of Arts in Music Performance from the Haute École de Musique de Genève (Switzerland), as well as a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music and Artist Diploma from the University of Montréal. Her primary teachers include Jimmy Brière, the late Dominique Weber, and John Hansen.
In addition to her formal studies, Cindy has also worked closely with distinguished artists such as
Robert McDonald, Jacques Rouvier, Bernd Goetzke, Dang Thai Son, Stephen Kovacevich, Ronan O’Hora, Marc Durand, Benedetto Lupo, Alexander Kobrin, and Evelyne Brancart, among others.
Cindy is currently on faculty at Acadia University and the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. She is also the Artistic Director of the Acadia Piano Intensive program.
