Recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, Orli Shaham is admired for her interpretations of both standard and modern repertoire. She has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. Since 2007 she has been artistic director of Café Ludwig, the Pacific Symphony’s chamber series in California, where she is host and featured performer in each of the concerts.
Performance highlights of her 2026-2027 season include Light forming by David Robertson and Reena Esmail’s Double Concerto with Gil Shaham with Utah Symphony, as well as appearances with the Milwaukee, Sao Paulo (Brazil), and Eugene symphonies and the Florida Orchestra, a recital of Clara Schumann’s music in New York, and a series of recitals and recordings with the violinist Deborah Buck.

In 2026 Orli Shaham and the Pacific Symphony released an acclaimed album of American chamber music including commissions by Margaret Brouwer and Avner Dorman alongside works by Reena Esmail, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and others. Ms. Shaham’s discography of over a dozen titles on Deutsche Gramophone, Canary Classics and other labels includes her complete set of sonatas by Mozart, her solo album, Brahms Inspired, John Adams' Grand Pianola Music with pianist Marc-André Hamelin and San Francisco Symphony, and American Grace, featuring Steven Mackey’s Stumble to Grace, written for her, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Orli Shaham is on faculty at The Juilliard School. She has served on the jury of numerous piano competitions, including the Cliburn, Honens, New York, Sydney, and Virginia Waring international piano competitions. Ms. Shaham is chair of the Board of Trustees of Kaufman Music Center.

She is a major presence on public radio coast to coast as Co-Host and Creative for NPR’s From the Top and was host of America’s Music Festivals and Dial-a-Musician, a radio feature series she created. She is regularly featured on the popular music education platform Tonebase. Founded in 2010, Shaham’s live interactive concert series for young children, ‘Orli Shaham’s Bach Yard’, has been cited as "magical" and "a terrific family event" in the press. It’s been presented by 92nd Street Y, the Aspen Music Festival, and elsewhere.

In addition to her musical education at The Juilliard School, Orli Shaham holds a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University and pursued a master's degree in musicology from Columbia. She is winner of the Gilmore Young Artist Award and the Avery Fisher Career Grant.