Meet 2026 Concerto Competition Winner Madison Brecht

October 1, 2026 | Students, Awards

For pianist Madison Brecht, winning the UVic School of Music’s Concerto Competition is more than a milestone. It’s the culmination of a musical journey with a piece she has loved since childhood.

Some pieces stay with us long after we first hear them. For fourth-year Bachelor of Music student Madison Brecht, Frédéric Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor is one of those works.

“I first listened to the concerto as a kid and immediately fell in love with the imaginative musical storytelling,” Madison recalls. “It became my first concerto, and I feel a strong personal connection to the work.”

Now, that connection has brought her to a full-circle moment: winning the UVic School of Music’s 2026 Concerto Competition and earning the opportunity to perform with the UVic Symphony Orchestra on October 30 in the final year of her undergraduate degree.

Studying piano with May Ling Kwok, Madison has developed a musical approach that places expression and storytelling at the centre of performance. Chopin’s concerto, with its sweeping melodies, emotional contrasts and technical demands, has offered an ideal vehicle for that approach.

“What I find particularly compelling is that Chopin’s second concerto isn’t just technically demanding and flashy, but also emotionally honest,” she says. “It demands constant lyricism and singing tone.”

One moment she is especially excited to share with audiences comes at the opening of the concerto’s second movement, the Larghetto. The piano begins alone with a simple A-flat major arpeggio, establishing an intimate, lyrical atmosphere that unfolds into one of the work’s most expressive passages.

For Madison, creating that sense of intimacy means thinking beyond the piano’s technical possibilities. She wants the instrument to communicate with the warmth and fluidity of a human voice.

A conversation between soloist and orchestra

Preparing her first concerto presented Madison with a new way of thinking about performance. While developing the solo piano part, she also had to consider how it would interact with the orchestra—understanding the roles of individual instruments and finding the connections between musical lines.

“Creating a complex dialogue between the solo piano part and the orchestra has been one of the biggest challenges,” she explains. “I have tried to approach the piece as not just a solo work with accompaniment, but as a musical conversation between all performers.”

Finding her voice on and off the stage

Madison’s musical imagination extends beyond the concert hall. An avid fan of fantasy books and films, she is drawn to immersive worlds, compelling characters and stories, and brings that same sensibility to her interpretation of music.

“When I practice or perform, I try to imagine the world, characters, and story behind a piece rather than thinking of the notes as purely technical,” she says.

Her listening habits are similarly wide-ranging. Fleetwood Mac, Queen, David Bowie, Phoebe Bridgers, Chappell Roan, The Strokes, Daniel Caesar and Fontaines D.C. are among the artists currently in her rotation. Exploring indie, rock and pop gives her fresh perspectives on colour, phrasing and rhythm that she can bring back to her classical repertoire.

Her time at UVic has also shaped her understanding of what it means to grow as a performer. Madison speaks candidly about the challenges of performance anxiety and the importance of finding community and balance.

“The welcoming UVic community and various performance opportunities offered have helped me grow both as a musician, and person,” she says. “I have learned that isolation creates more anxiety, and having a strong support system and healthy balance of working and experiencing life can make a huge difference.”

The next chapter

After completing her Bachelor of Music degree in June 2027, Madison plans to pursue a master’s degree in performance. Her long-term goal is to build a diverse career as a solo performer, collaborative pianist and teacher.

For now, the opportunity to perform Chopin’s concerto with the UVic Symphony Orchestra brings together so many elements of her musical journey: a piece she has loved for years, the challenge of taking on her first concerto, and the chance to collaborate with a full orchestra.

“As a pianist, I am most often rehearsing and performing alone, so I have always looked forward to chances to play with other musicians,” she says. “The opportunity to make music with so many exceptional musicians at once is incredibly rare.”

Congratulations to Madison and the 2026 Concerto Competition runners-up! Get to know the runners up here.

Hear Madison perform Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2  with the UVic Symphony Orchestra at 8pm on Friday, October 30 in the UVic Farquhar Auditorium. Tickets are available through the UVic Ticket Centre and at the door. UVic students with a valid ONECard can attend for free, and special ticket pricing is available for school groups.