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Ever feel like classical music gets a bit of short shrift in a world where everyone under 30 wants to be Kendrick Lamar, Wet Leg, or Geese? Yes, there are classical rock stars—perhaps you’ve heard of Yo-Yo Ma. But mostly it feels like you have to be in the know to get a line on the shows you need to see and the records you need to hear.
Let’s make this easy then.
If you haven’t heard of Tiffany Poon yet, odds are that might change in the next couple of years. At the age of 28, the Hong Kong–born pianist has already accomplished more than most of us will in our lives.
After relocating to America as a young child, she was accepted to The Juilliard School at age 8 (yes, you read that right), kicking off a career that’s led to performances at Carnegie Hall, world tours, and a hit debut album—Diaries: Schumann from 2024. That record has nine million streams and counting, as well as a best-in-show status on Apple Music, where it hit No. 1 on the classical charts in four countries.
As for why that matters here, first Poon heads to Vancouver this weekend for a Vancouver Recital Society concert. Second, January is a time for reflection and resetting. While one can theoretically do that to the Refused’s “New Noise” or the Butthole Surfers’ “Sweatloaf”, it helps to sometimes take a more nuanced approach.
Cue up Poon’s most recent album, Nature, which once again rocketed to the top of the charts when it was released in late 2025. As hinted at by the title, Nature is a record inspired by, well, the beauty of nature. Poon amassed a collection of works by French composers—Claude Debussy, Louis-Claude Daquin, Joseph Maurice Ravel, Jean-Philippe Rameau—with one thing in common: they all pay tribute to the beauty of the great outdoors.
The first thing that hits you on Nature is that the pianist is technically dazzling. But even more importantly, Poon understands that hitting all the right notes isn’t as important as getting to the emotional core of something beautiful like Daquin’s “Le Coucou”.
Consider it a reminder that few things are better for you as a human being than peeling yourself off the couch and getting outdoors. Or heading indoors for a concert that captures the magic of the world around us, Poon offering just that when she plays songs from Nature in super-natural Vancouver this Sunday.
Given the pianist’s rising-star status, consider it one of the shows where, a few years from now, you’ll be able to say, “I saw them when”. You know—like seeing the White Stripes at the Pic Pub. Or an 18-year-old Yo-Yo Ma at the Vancouver Playhouse in 1974. Rock stars indeed come in many forms.
When: Sunday (January 18)
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
Tickets: Go here.
Video of Tiffany Poon: Arabesque No.1 – Claude Debussy (Official Music Video from Nature Album)
