2:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, 2026

The Menil Duo, consisting of pianist Jonathan Mak and cellist David Dietz, has performed extensively across the USA and Canada and has been prizewinners in major competitions in North America and Europe. In the upcoming 2024-25 season the duo will perform in Texas and across the midwest, including performances at MECA Houston, Lonestar College, and the Ruthmere Concert Series in Elkhart, Indiana. The duo was formed in Houston, Texas and is named after the Menil Collection, an art museum and neighborhood attraction in the heart of Houston. The duo and museum share the same mission: to attract, educate, and inspire diverse audiences through art.

Performance Location: The Centrum, 6823 Cypresswood Dr., Spring Texas 77379
Date & Time: 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Tickets: $18 Adult, $15 Senior, $12 Child/Student, $12 Groups of 6 or more
Season Ticket Sales: On Sale Now
Single Ticket Sales: 9am, Friday, August 1, 2025

The Artists

Cellist David Dietz has performed across North America and Europe and is experienced in a variety of settings as a performer, educator, and administrator. His belief in classical music’s ability to strengthen communities and bring people together has driven his involvement in many creative projects, including the Houston Music Festival, as co-founder and Monarch Chamber Players, as a core member.
Chamber music is at the heart of David’s artistic practice. He is a founding member of Trio Menil, a piano trio that performs extensively throughout the United States and was the Grand Prizewinner at the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition. During the 2024-25 season, Trio Menil performed a series of concerts in diverse venues across Houston featuring a new work written for the Trio by Nicky Sohn. Other recent performance highlights of David’s include appearances with Aperio, Monarch Chamber Players, DACAMERA Young Artists, Houston Music Festival, and a recital tour of Hong Kong and China with pianist Tong Wang.
As the child of two public school music teachers, David firmly believes in music education’s ability to lift up communities and build a more compassionate society. He regularly appears in classrooms across Houston to perform and speak about classical music, and has recently given masterclasses at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, American Festival of the Arts, and Opus 1 Chamber Music School. David serves on the faculty of Lone Star College- University Park as an Adjunct Instructor of Cello and maintains a robust private studio. 
David holds a Master’s Degree from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music where he studied with Desmond Hoebig, and a Bachelor of Music and Performance Diploma from Indiana University, where he studied with Eric Kim. For more information and upcoming performances, visit www.daviddietzcello.com. 

Winner of the 2024 inaugural Concours international de musique de Sorel-Tracy, pianist Jonathan Mak made his orchestra debut at the age of 4. Since then, he has been a guest soloist with numerous orchestras, most notably the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. In addition to his win at the Sorel-Tracy competition, Jonathan’s recent accomplishments include the Grand Prize at the 2023 Bader & Overton Canadian Piano Competition, Grand Prize at the 2023 Plowman Chamber Music Competition with Trio Menil, the First Prize at the 2024 Tuesday Musical Club’s Young Artists Competition, and the third prize in the OSM competition. Jonathan received special prizes at the Ljubljana Festival International Piano Competition in Slovenia, and the Maj Lind International Piano Competition in Finland. He has also participated in the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. 
Named as one of CBC’s 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30, Jonathan is a recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts-Michael Measures award and the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, along with the 2023 Walter Prystawski Prize. In the upcoming 24/25 season Jonathan will be performing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83 with the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, Kingston Symphony Orchestra and the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra. He has been invited to perform at various festivals including the Bravo! Vail Festival in Colorado, the Festival of the Sound in Ontario, Ottawa Chamberfest, and the Edinburgh International Festival. An advocate for community outreach, Jonathan is an alumnus of DACAMERA’s Young Artist Program, a fellowship program for emerging professional instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers that serves the Houston community.
Jonathan is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker. He began his studies with Aster Lai in Toronto, and holds a Master’s of Music and a Master’s of Musical Arts degree from the Yale School of Music, studying with Boris Slutsky. He received his Bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Dr. Daniel Shapiro, as well as minors in viola and German.