Trained in the United States and France, Louise Billaud studied under the guidance of her future husband, French-born American pianist and Steinway Artist, professor Jean-Paul Billaud. Through him she felt the influence of his former teachers: French Masters Marguerite Long, Jacques Février, Alfred Cortot, and Polish pianist Auguste de Radwan who had studied in Vienna with the famed Theodor Leschetizky.
Along with academic degrees awarded with highest honors, she was laureate of several piano competitions. She took first prize in the Maxim Shapiro Memorial Piano Competition, second in the International Piano Recording Competition, first prize in the Bartók-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition and was semi-finalist in the International Web concert hall Competition. She was also honored with the Award for Exemplary Performance from Radford University.
She has performed in the United States and
Europe in solo and lecture-recitals, chamber music, as soloist
with orchestra and as featured artist in several music festivals
in France. Having a special interest in diabetes research,
Louise Billaud has taken recital programs on tour for the benefit
of the American Diabetes Association.
Currently residing in Southwest Virginia
with her husband and their son Kéran, she is on
the faculty of New River Community College as Associate Professor and teaches Music History and Music Appreciation. Additionally, some of her piano students have distinguished themselves in national competitions in the United States and in the People's Republic of China.
Her recordings include compact discs: "Louise Billaud" -
a recital of works by Bach, Beethoven, Barber, Holliday,
Rachmaninoff and Liapunov; “From
Bartók to the Popol Vuh” - featuring piano music by 20th century composers
Bartók, Kabalevsky, Petrassi and Holliday; “Passion” - released in 2004
with works by Bach, Franck, Wagner-Liszt and Liszt.
In 2005, Louise Billaud gave the première performance of the four-movement Sonata for Piano by American composer Kent Holliday written for and dedicated to her. In addition, her successful lecture-recital entitled Mazeppa – An Inspirational Living Legend has been released and distributed in DVD format.
She recently presented a lecture-recital featuring the award-winning Incantations from the Popol Vuh by Kent Holliday at the 2009 International Conference of the College Music Society in Zagreb, Croatia where it was enthusiastically received.
Louise Billaud is currently pursing doctoral studies at Boston University. |