Harry & Martha Cohen Emerging Artist Concert Series 2023

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Harry & Martha Cohen Foundation Emerging Artist Concert Series

PROARTS @NOON CONCERTS PRESENTS

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The ProArts@Noon Concert Series is pleased to announce a unique series of five concerts featuring Emerging performing artists. The term “emerging” refers to the stage of artistic development, professional accomplishment, and recognition that the artist has achieved to date. 

The Harry & Martha Cohen Foundation awarded Calgary’s ProArts Society funding to undertake the Emerging Artist Concert Series, which features a diverse selection of performing arts genres.

This special series is part of the ProArts@Noon weekly schedule of Wednesday concerts.

The ProArts@Noon Concert Series is a free, noon hour concert series presented by the ProArts Society. Concerts take place in the historic Cathedral Church in the heart of Calgary’s Cultural District.

THE 2023 HARRY AND MARTHA COHEN FOUNDATION EMERGING ARTIST SERIES:

1. Mar 08 Nikolai Nesterov, classical piano
2. May 03 MRU Academy and Advanced Performance Students (concert 1 of 2)
3. Aug 29 Alicia Woynarski, mezzo-soprano
4. Oct 11 Osmond Chiu, viola
5. Nov 08 MRU Academy and Advance Performance Students (concert 2 of 2)

March 08 Nikolai Nesterov, classical piano

Born into a family of musicians, Russian-Canadian pianist Nikolai Nesterov is in the 3rd year of his Bachelor of Music degree in performance at the University of Calgary, studying with Dr. Jani Parsons. An alumnus of the Academy of Music for the Gifted Youth at the Mount Royal Conservatory, Nikolai has been an annual prize and scholarship winner at the Calgary Performing Arts Festival, the Alberta Provincial Music Festival as well as the Canadian Music Competition since 2012. For the 2020-21 season, he was also selected as one of four young musicians to be a part of the Young Artist Development Program of Calgary’s Pro Music Society.

Most recently, Nikolai has appeared at the ProArts Society and the Stingray Classical Live at the King Eddy concert series in Calgary, along with his parents, pianist Dmitry Nesterov and violinist Olga Kotova. He was also a three-time runner-up at the Calgary Concerto Competition between 2016 and 2020. He also holds a Grade 10 piano diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music.

May 03 and November 08 MRU Academy and Advance Performance Students

The Advanced Performance Program fills the gap in traditional musical development and degree programs, focusing almost exclusively on the performance element and the tools required to be a successful performer. The Advanced Performance Program provides students with an expanded opportunity to study with a number of national and international artists in a supportive, safe and creative environment, creating invaluable opportunities to learn from a variety of active performers.

Cultivating leadership and communication skills are an important component of the program. Faculty are outstanding, internationally recognized musicians, who are invested in students’ musical, technical and personal growth. The Advanced Performance Program is offered for brass, woodwinds, classical guitar, piano, voice, choral conducting and strings, including violin, viola, cello and bass.

August 09 Alicia Woynarski, mezzo-soprano

Alicia Woynarski is a singer with a beautiful warm mezzo-soprano voice and compelling stage presence. “Pretty as a flower, this budding star sings with the power and confidence of a veteran” (Oceanside Star). Her innate musicality has captivated audiences nationally and abroad. “[Director Tatiana] Vasilieva is glowing in her praise of this young mezzo-soprano and one can see why” (Parksville Qualicum Beach News).

Originally from Regina, Alicia completed a Bachelor of Music at University of Western Ontario and graduated from University of British Columbia with a Master’s degree in Vocal Performance. Operatic roles include Drite Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Saskatoon Opera), Mercedes in Carmen (Saskatoon Opera), Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (A Little Opera on the Prairie), Dorabella in Così Fan Tutte (AEDO, Accademia Europea Dell’Opera), Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (Manitoba Opera and Saskatoon Opera), the title role in Carmen (Vancouver Island Opera), Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte (European Academy of Music, Czech Republic), Tessa in The Gondoliers (Westben Theatre), Florence in Albert Herring (UWO), and Principessa in Suor Angelica (Opera NUOVA).

Other concert performances include guest artist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra and Mercury Opera, Edmonton.

October 11 Osmund Chiu, viola

Osmond Chiu began viola studies aged eight, his development being principally guided by Theresa Plotnick and Nick Pulos. An alumnus of the Mount Royal Conservatory Academy, Osmond toured Austria, the Czech Republic and France with the Calgary Youth Orchestra. He participated in the NAC Young Artists Program under Pinchas Zukerman, the Valhalla Summer School of Music, and the Mountain View International Festival of Song and Chamber Music with Anton Kuerti and Rudolf Jansen. Osmond particularly enjoys chamber music and collaborating with vocalists, and is pursuing a double degree in Music Performance and Accounting at the University of Calgary, under Dean O’Brien.

November 08 MRU Academy and Advance Performance Students