For her extraordinary artistic achievements, her leadership in the world of classical musical education and her exemplary engagement with Eisenhower Fellowships, world-renowned concert pianist Claire-Marie Le Guay of France has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Distinguished Fellow Award.
Eisenhower Fellowships Chairman, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert M. Gates, will present Claire-Marie this prestigious award at the 2026 EF Annual Awards Dinner on May 13 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where the organization will honor celebrated American documentary filmmaker Ken Burns with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal of Leadership and Service to help EF celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The previous evening, on May 12, Claire-Marie will perform a solo concert for the scores of Eisenhower Fellows and other invited guests descending on Philadelphia at the Museum of the American Revolution. Her presence and musical performance at EF’s largest annual event, in the city where the U.S. was founded, invokes and honors the pivotal role of France in the birth of our nation.
Claire-Marie came to the United States as an Eisenhower Fellow in the 2015 Women’s Leadership Program. Since then, she has performed for her EF global family at some of the organization’s most high-profile events in the U.S. and abroad. These included feature appearances at the fall 2015 global Women’s Leadership conference in Miami, the 2017 EF global conference on The Future of Work in Malaga, Spain and EF’s 70th Anniversary World Forum in San Francisco, where she performed at the first EF Annual Impact Award ceremony at the Herbst Theatre in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Building, where the original United Nations charter was signed in 1945.
One of the world’s most celebrated soloists, winner of numerous awards and multiple international competitions, Claire-Marie has performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the Chicago Symphony, the Philharmonie de Paris, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and at the U.S. Embassy in Paris’ annual 4th of July celebration. She has played in concerto with numerous orchestras around the world, including the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the London Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Orchestre of Paris and the Camerata Salzburg, among many others.
For the last quarter-century, Claire-Marie has been dedicated to sharing her great gift with other younger musicians following in her footsteps, teaching at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, collaborating with the Dijon Opera to develop artistic projects for young audiences and serving as the past artistic director of the Dinard International Music Festival. You can read more about her remarkable career here.
“Claire-Marie Le Guay embodies the core essence of Eisenhower Fellowships,” said EF President George de Lama. “One of the world’s elite musical artists, her sincere humility, warm compassion and dedication to giving back to society inspires of us. At these uncertain, tumultuous times, she lives our core values of direct personal engagement across borders and cultures to enhance international understanding. We are proud to honor her as a most worthy recipient of this richly deserved recognition.”
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