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Becoming a Golden Hawk means more than just cheering on our (really good) varsity teams – it means being a student who cares about your community, who works hard in the classroom, and who takes advantage of all the learning opportunities that can happen outside the classroom, too.
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I have taught piano in Laurier’s Faculty of Music since 2003. I am continually fueled by the abundance of wonderful music, as well as the endlessly fascinating musical and artistic potential in each individual.
Performing has taken me throughout Canada, the USA, and Europe, as a soloist and collaborative artist. Furthermore, recent activity as a recording artist has gained favourable review at home and in Europe. With Elaine Lau, I am active as a duo pianist. We both perform along with Stephanie Chua as part of the award-winning junctQín keyboard collective, which works regularly with many thriving composers, and has been aired on CBC, and in Europe through Rondo Classic: “On reTHiNK, the trio dazzles the sense with an arresting performance” (Wholenote), and “unfaltering, polished performance” (Musicworks).
As an ensemble pianist, I have performed with such groups as the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Talisker Players, and the NUMUS orchestra. Performing as a concerto soloist with the Laurier Symphony Orchestra, as part of a NUMUS presentation, was another recent highlight.
I am in demand across Canada as a festival and competition adjudicator, and as a senior examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music. I have been invited to present workshops and lecture recitals for such institutions as The Glenn Gould School, Mt. Allison University, the RCM Keyboard Summit, and the Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Associations’ National Convention. I have served as a faculty member at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Coach and Repetiteur for the Opera Theatre of Lucca (Italy), and for many years as Staff Accompanist and instructor at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts.
I received my Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the University of Colorado – Boulder and received my Masters and Doctoral degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where I received fellowships and held teaching assistantships.
- I frequently engage in many recording and performing projects, from the making of videos/recordings of new solo and chamber repertoire to presenting works in concerts.
- From 2011 to 2018, I served as an advisor/presenter/co-author in a multi-institutional project involving the creation of the Music Tool Suite.
- Contribution to Teaching Award, Ontario Registered Music Teachers’ Association
- Recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, FACTOR, and the Ernst von Seimens Foundation
- Recipient of numerous graduate scholarships and fellowships from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
- Outstanding Senior, Outstanding Junior, among other awards, in the College of Music at the University of Colorado–Boulder
Opportunities for performance and growth in Laurier's Faculty of Music are immense. It is rewarding to see growth and success in the musicians that I am privileged to teach. Some of my students have garnered wins and awards in such endeavors as the Laurier Concerto Competition, first place awards at OMFA Provincials, the ORMTA Young Artist Tour, and many other scholarships and awards.
- I have been invited to write for publications such as Music Matters, The Canadian Music Teacher, and Notes.
- “Notated Extemporization: The Structural Ramifications of Improvisatory Composing in Part VIII of Frederic Rzewski’s The Road” Electronic Thesis. University of Cincinnati, 2006. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. 24 Aug 2014.
- reTHiNK - with junctQín keyboard collective, music for one piano six hands (Redshift Records, 2020).
- Mircrolocking, by Saman Shahi – with junctQín keyboard collective (People places records, 2021)
- A Present From a Small Distant World - with Kristin Mueller-Heaslip, soprano, music by Alex Eddington (Redshift Records, 2021)
- “ . . . amid the cannon’s roar:” Music by Jason Doell, 2018
- “Soliloquies” (Capstone Records, 2009), Duo piano recording: SCI No. 24 [CPS 8812]; Music of Jack Behrens
I have performed in recital formats on many university concert series, including Laurier’s own Music at Noon series. Others include the Royal Conservatory of Music, McMaster University, and Mt. Allison University.
I have also performed in numerous new music presentations. For example, performances in the KW area have included NUMUS “Contemporary Concertos” as a concerto soloist, and NUMUS “City Life” as an orchestral keyboardist with the KW Symphony’s Canadian Chamber Ensemble, and in the Open Ears festival as a member of junctQín, performing both solo and chamber repertoire.
Other example performances include concerts in Toronto (The COC’s Piano Virtuoso Series, the Music Gallery, presentations by the Canadian Music Centre, Toronto International Electroacoustic Symposium), and beyond (Barrie’s Colours of Music Festival, the Kitchener Waterloo Chamber Music Society, Markham’s Mental Health Gala Fundraiser), among many others.
I work with students to build a lasting foundation for future music making, striving to instill ease, artistry and interpretive knowledge. My teaching is informed by grounding in classical performance, along with influence from study of the Alexander and Taubman techniques. The collegial and energetic spirit of colleagues and students in Laurier’s Faculty of Music continually inspires me.
Contact Info:
Office location: A401
Languages spoken: English, Italian
Watch now:
Music at Noon: Fryderyk Chopin, Oscar Peterson
Nauroz Tanya, The Mosaic Portrait
NUMUS “Reflections” concert: Music of Peter Hatch