about
Canadian-American cellist Mira Kardan is quickly establishing herself as an engaging soloist and chamber musician. Winner of the 2025 Shean Competition, she recently gave her debut recital at the Rockport Chamber Music Festival and was an Artist-in-Residence at the Off-Center Music Salon. Other recent performances include a recital at the Bellosguardo Foundation in Santa Barbara, and repeat appearances with the Lavania ensemble in Toronto. As a winner of the Corcoran Concerto Competition, Mira will perform the Schumann Concerto with James Conlon and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra in Koerner Hall and the Isabel Bader Center. Additional upcoming performances include the Elgar Concerto with the Niagara Symphony Orchestra and a return to the Off-center Music Salon.
Mira was a member of the Olive Piano Trio, which won the gold medal in the 2022 Junior Fischoff Competition and the First Grand Prize in the 2022 Chicago International Music Competition. Following their wins, the trio performed in Helsinki, Finland, at the La Jolla Chamber Music Society, and for Chamber Music LA. Mira‘s other successes include top prizes in the 2025 and 2026 Glenn Gould Chamber Competition and the International Young Artist Concerto Competition in Chicago. She has appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program, From the Top, on two occasions. Mira has a keen interest in collaborating with and performing works by young composers. Recent collaborations include the premier of Opus One prize-winning string trio by Nora Popescu and the premier of Frederick Huang’s monumental Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano.
photo by Stuart Lowe
Mira has participated in the Young Artist Program at Yellowbarn, the Fontainebleau School of Music, the Heifetz International Music Institute, and the Meadowmount School of Music. In October 2026, she will attend the Cello Akademie Rutesheim. Mira has performed in master classes for Richard Aaron, Gautier Capucon, Steven Isserlis, Gary Hoffman, the Calidore and the Takacs quartets.
Mira attends the Glenn Gould school as a recipient of the Renette and David Berman scholarships, where she studies with Hans Jorgen Jensen and Andres Diaz. She previously attended the Colburn School’s Music Academy, where she studied with Clive Greensmith. Other mentors include Barry Shiffman, Steven Dann, Margaret Batjer, Martin Beaver, and Fabio Bidini. Mira performs on a Grubaugh & Seifert Cello and a Sylvain Bigot bow.
updated September 2026