Since making his debut at the age of twelve in Chicago’s Petty Auditorium, pianist Milton Rubén Laufer has enjoyed performing throughout the world to the delight of audiences and critics alike. A Chicago native of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent, Laufer began playing the piano at three years of age, and his training includes studies at the Music Institute of Chicago, the Moscow Conservatory, the Gnessin Institute, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Michigan, and Rice University.

Top prizes in the Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition, Union League Civic Arts Foundation competition, and the Nena Wideman Competition, highlight some of Laufer’s accomplishments on the competitive stage. His performance at the 10^th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was declared, "fanfare-like...vividly colored... Debussy's L'Isle Joyeuse and Prokofiev's Third Sonata confirmed an initial impression of Laufer as a complete pianist..." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The many distinguished conductors and composers with whom Laufer has collaborated include David Mairs, Robert Debbaut, George Solti, Henry Mancini, Joseph Schwantner, Aaron Copland, Soulima Stravinsky, Carlisle Floyd, and Arthur Gottschalk.

Recognized internationally as a leading performer and scholar of Spanish piano music, Laufer’s recent editions of Isaac Albéniz’s 3 Improvisations for Piano and La Vega by are published by G. Henle Verlag of Munich and available worldwide.

The 2011-2012 season will bring Laufer to Canada, China, Germany, England, Spain, and throughout the United States. He has two recordings being released this year on the Beauport Classics and Zenph record labels.