Ignas Maknickas, piano

Born in California and raised in Lithuania, pianist Ignas Maknickas is now based in London and was a winner at the 2023 Young Classical Artists Trust international auditions.

Often decorated in competition, Ignas was winner of the 2024 Award for Keyboard at the Royal Overseas League Annual Music Competition. He also previously won First Prize at the XIX Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition for Youth in Szafarnia, First Prize at the XX Piano Competition ‘Young Virtuoso’ in Zagreb, Third Prize at the Aarhus Piano Competition,  and  was a semi-finalist of the 2021 Vendome Prize.

Ignas has appeared in concerto with many orchestras including the Aarhus Symphony, Bloomington Symphony in Indiana, Lithuanian National Symphony and London Mozart Players. In recital he has appeared at prestigious concert halls including the Wigmore Hall and Steinway Hall in London, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Charlottenborg Festival Hall in Copenhagen and Lithuanian National Philharmonic in Vilnius.

The forthcoming season sees Ignas performing extensively throughout the UK and mainland Europe, including performances at Wigmore Hall, St. George’s Bristol, Brunton Theatre concerts in Scotland, and his debut at the Konzerthaus Berlin. Further afield Ignas will make his Australian debut with performances at the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival near Melbourne. 

Ignas completed his Bachelor, Master of Arts programmes and Advanced Diploma Programme at the Royal Academy of Music on full scholarship under Professor Joanna MacGregor CBE, and is currently holder of the Aud Jebsen Piano Fellowship. In 2021 he received ‘The Queen’s Award for Excellence’ as the highest-scoring graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. He is a Leverhulme Arts Scholar, and recipient of the ABRSM Scholarship Award, Imogen Cooper Music Trust Scholarship, Munster Trust Mark James Award, Robert Turnbull Piano Foundation Award, Tillett Trust and Colin Keer Trust Award and Hattori Foundation Award. Ignas is also a current member of the Munster Trust Recital Scheme, and Philip and Dorothy Green Young Artists Scheme. 

In 2017, graduating from the National M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius, he was honoured by the President of Lithuania, H.E. Dalia Grybauskaitė. With his sister and three brothers the talented Maknickas Family Ensemble has represented Lithuania on National Television and at State Occasions.

Ignas is extremely grateful to Dasha Shenkman for her support during his time with YCAT.