Nickle Family Foundation Piano Concert Series 2024

Home » Nickle Family Foundation Piano Concert Series 2024

PROARTS @NOON CONCERTS PRESENTS

______________________________________________________________________________________

The ProArts@Noon Concert Series is pleased to announce a unique series of five piano concerts featuring diverse and emerging performing artists.

The Nickle Family Foundation awarded Calgary’s ProArts Society funding to undertake the Piano Concert series, which will feature a diverse selection of local pianists performing a variety of artistic genres.

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

There’s nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself. – Johann Sebastian Bach

Now in its twenty-second season, the ProArts@Noon Concert Series is a free, noon hour concert series presented by the ProArts Society, who rent the historic Cathedral Church in the heart of Calgary’s Cultural District for their weekly concerts.

The 2024 Nickle Family Foundation Piano Concert Series:

1. May 29 Peter Jancwicz and Susan Hlasny (piano)
2. August 28 Allen Reiser (piano)
3. September 25 There is Room Duo (violin and piano)
4. October 9 William Friedson (piano)
5. November 20 Mount Royal University’s Advanced Performance Program (APP) and Academy Program for Young Students concert

Artist Biographies

Peter Jancwicz and Susan Hlasny  May 29, 2024

Peter Jancewicz is a composer, pianist, and teacher. He holds a Master of Music degree in piano from McGill University and a Doctor of Music degree from the University of Alberta. Teachers include Helmut Brauss, Charles Reiner and Charles Foreman. A resident of Alberta since 1986, he has taught at Medicine Hat College, Alberta College, the University of Alberta and has been a member of the piano faculty at The Conservatory at Mount Royal University in Calgary since 1994. A composer since 1996, his compositions are available through Alfred  and Palliser Music as well as through his website www.peterjancewicz.com. He continues to compose, and often performs his own works in concert. As a writer, his articles have appeared in Clavier Magazine and Clavier Companion, The Canadian Music Teacher, and The Calgary Herald, as well as numerous piano pedagogy periodicals across Canada. Currently, Peter teaches at Mount Royal University Conservatory.

Susan Hlasny has been teaching piano for Mount Royal Conservatory since 1994. Previously Susan taught in Montreal, Medicine Hat College (1988-1992) and Alberta College in Edmonton (1992 – 1994). Susan holds a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the University of Calgary (1990) as well as a Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance (Distinction) from McGill University (1982). Susan holds a special interest in the study of and prevention of Repetitive Strain injuries in pianists and has successfully helped a handful of pianists overcome their injuries and return to pain-free playing. Susan herself sustained a debilitating injury to her left hand and pursued medical help from Dr. Emil Pascarelli, a leading expert in this field. With a proper diagnosis followed by physiotherapy, a study of the Alexander technique, and retraining at the piano, Susan returned to pain-free playing. She believes that healthy technique begins in the mind with holistic healthy daily habits of the mind and body.

Allen Reiser August 28, 2024

Well-known throughout Western Canada, pianist Allen Reiser has been guest soloist with the Symphony Orchestras of Calgary, Victoria and Montreal as well as with various other orchestras in Canada and in England. Recital engagements have taken him to nearly every major centre in Western Canada, and he has been a guest recitalist at the prestigious Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival in Salt Lake City. Allen Reiser’s recitals are an eclectic mix of standard works for the keyboard sprinkled with unusual and less frequently performed works taken from the peripheries of the keyboard’s repertoire. He has a particular affinity for, and interest in, Canadian piano music and the music of Franz Liszt. In the spring of 2001 he released his first CD – A Canadian Piano Album – which received a Prairie Music Award nomination in the category of Outstanding Classical Recording. His second CD – Sonatinas and Little Sonatas – was released in June of 2009. His Sonatina album was the basis for a book published in German, simply titled “Allen Reiser”, which focuses on the composers present on that CD.

A former student of Peter Katin (England), Dr. Robin Wood (Victoria), and Mary Hughs Fenwick (Calgary), Allen Reiser is an ARCT National Gold Medalist of the Toronto Conservatory of Music and a two time recipient of the Victoria Medallion. In 1992 he was honoured by Mount Royal College (now University) with a Distinguished Faculty/Teaching Award. In 2020, he was the recipient of the highly coveted “Teacher of Distinction” award from the Royal Conservatory of Music. Allen Reiser has been an instructor at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, The Hindhead School of Music (England), and the Conservatory at Mount Royal College/University. He currently operates a private studio in Calgary. He is active throughout Western Canada as a performer, an adjudicator and a master class clinician.

There is Room Duo (Lindsey Herle, violin, and Elizabeth Clarke, piano) September 25

Currently a member of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Lindsey Herle has played with several other Canadian orchestras, including the Hamilton Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, and the Victoria Symphony. An alumna of both the National Youth Orchestra and the National Academy Orchestra, she recently participated in the National Arts Centre Orchestra Mentorship Program in 2022 and 2023.

In addition to orchestral playing, Lindsey enjoys chamber music, and has participated in a wide variety of chamber concerts with colleagues and friends. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria, a Performance Certificate from Mount Royal Conservatory, and a Master of Music from the University of Ottawa. During her graduate studies at the University of Ottawa she was awarded a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Her primary teachers include Yehonatan Berick, Yosuke Kawasaki, Ashley Vandiver, William van der Sloot, Sharon Stanis, and Peter Ellis.

Calgary-based pianist Dr. Elizabeth Clarke is active as a performer, collaborator, and teacher. She has performed numerous solo and chamber recitals in Canada and the United States, and has been featured as a concerto soloist with the University of Victoria orchestra. She is also an in-demand accompanist and frequently works with singers and instrumentalists of all levels.

As a teacher, Elizabeth previously held the position of Assistant Professor in Residence at Bradley University in Peoria, IL, as well as teaching assistantships at the University of Victoria and Michigan State University. Currently, she is a sessional instructor at Ambrose University, and maintains a private studio at Calgary Music Academy. Elizabeth holds degrees in piano performance and music theory from the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus, University of Victoria, and Michigan State University. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Governor General’s silver medal, the Johann Strauss scholarship for advanced musical study in Austria, and a graduate student grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

William Friedson October 9

Jazz Composer and pianist William Friedson is a performer showing audiences a new wave in merging Classical and Jazz techniques.  He takes from Debussy, Jacques Lossier, and Bill Evans and sprinkles his performances with plenty of Keith Jarrett technique. Sam Fuqua of KGNU radio, Boulder, writes, “…a deft left hand and plenty of melodic lines…”

Mr. Friedson’s compositions have been performed in both the U.S. and Canada, as he lived in New York City for 10 years, where he earned his Masters in Composition from Manhattan School of Music. There, he was commissioned to compose new music for An Evening of Russian Poetry with NYU poet laureate Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Excerpts from that performance were played on NPR in the U.S.

While in New York, he also performed on Broadway and worked with many Jazz musicians in clubs— most notably his last mentor, Bob Mover. Since then he has worked with big bands, small instrumental groups and vocalists, and has been commissioned for his music.

Mount Royal University Performance Programs November 20

Students from the Mount Royal Conservatory’s Performance Programs are thrilled and excited to again be sharing their musical talents with the ProArts audience.

The Academy Program for Young Artists offers participants a comprehensive music education featuring a balanced, performance-based course of study, with inspiring opportunities to creatively work and perform with professional musicians and world-renowned instructors.

The Advanced Performance Program (APP) is an engaging, intense performance-based program that advances students’ performance technique, musicianship and collaboration skills with a focus on future professional goals.

The Academy Program’s reputation is known and respected throughout the world, with many of its graduates being sought-after and continuing their musical studies in leading post-secondary music schools in Canada, the United States and Europe.