The New Mexico–raised, “Genius” Award–winning pianist Jeremy Denk returns to the Festival to give an all-Bach recital at The Lensic on August 15.

In the years since growing up in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Jeremy Denk has become one of the leading pianists of his generation, with The New York Times calling him “a pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs.”

Fortunately, Denk performs seemingly everything: from 14th-century works by Guillaume de Machaut to world premieres by Kevin Puts and Anna Clyne. In 2026, Denk makes his highly anticipated return to the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, where he performs three of Bach’s six partitas—a stunning set of dance suites that dazzle with their technical demands.

Born in North Carolina, Denk lived in New Jersey until he was 10 years old, when his family moved to New Mexico. A prodigiously talented child, Denk—who studied with William Leland at New Mexico State University—graduated from high school at the age of 15 and headed to Ohio, where he attended Oberlin College. Studies at both Indiana University and The Juilliard School followed, with Denk earning master’s and doctoral degrees, respectively. As an undergraduate, Denk won Oberlin’s Senior Concerto Competition, and, over the decades, his honors have included being named Musical America’s 2014 Instrumentalist of the Year, becoming a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and receiving an Avery Fisher Prize and a MacArthur Fellowship (the famous “Genius” Award).

In addition to performing with the world’s leading ensembles in the world’s most prestigious venues, Denk has distinguished himself as a writer, with essays appearing in such well-known publications as the New Yorker, New York Times Book Review, Guardian, and New Republic. In 2022, he released a New York Times best-selling memoir called Every Good Boy Does Fine.

Denk’s discography is equally acclaimed, with his recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations reaching number one on Billboard’s Classical Chart, his Mozart Piano Concertos recording being called “urgent and essential” by BBC Radio 3, and much more.

In the 2025–26 season, Denk continues to perform around the world—from New York to New Zealand—and he appears with such frequent collaborators as violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Steven Isserlis in addition to returning to Santa Fe for the Festival’s next-to-last Saturday concert of the season.