Prize-winning pianist Bryn Blackwood and Piano Lunaire founder and managing director Adam Sherkin will perform a program of modern music on the day of the Snow Moon on February 1. The two pianists will each play a set of Canadian and British music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Blackwood is making his debut at The nanoSTAGE on the occasion. The program consists of:
- SET I: Bryn Blackwood, piano
Robert Fleming: Prelude and Nocturne (1960)
Harry Somers: Sonata No. 4 (1950) - SET 2: Adam Sherkin, piano
Adam Sherkin: Sonata No. 1, Op. 11 “Sunderance” (2008)
Michael Tippett: Sonata No. 2 (1962)
The Pianists
Bryn Blackwood
Solo and collaborative pianist Bryn Blackwood is based in Toronto. His primary interests in terms of repertoire include 20th and 21st century music. After his win at the 2019 Eckhardt-Grammatté National Music Competition, he embarked on a Canadian recital tour of nine cities. He’s also performed on a recital tour of the Maritimes with Debut Atlantic, and several of his concerts have been broadcast on CBC Radio. Bryn was also winner of the Paul J. Bourret Memorial Award for Best Performance of the Test Piece at the 2018 Shean Piano Competition.
He earned his his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music from Western University and McGill University, respectively, and completed his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Toronto.
Alongside his performing career, Bryn is a dedicated teacher at the Lane School of Music in Toronto, and maintains his own private piano studio.
Adam Sherkin
Adam Sherkin is an active performer and composer who has worked with a range of chamber ensembles and orchestras, as well as in the role of a solo artist. Adam studied at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree. Along with other studies and training, he went to Buffalo for the Philharmonic’s student symposium to study composition. At that workshop, he wrote a piece that was later revised and premiered with the Royal Conservatory in 2005, titled Terra Incognita.
On graduating from the Glenn Gould School, Sherkin was awarded the Dorothy Isabella Webb Trust Scholarship toward the pursuit of graduate studies, and went on to complete Master of Music degree in composition at the Royal College of Music in London.
He returned to Canada after graduating from the Royal College, and has since premiered several compositions in Canada and the US, in addition to founding and managing Piano Lunaire.
Composers
Robert James Berkeley Fleming
Canadian composer, pianist, organist, choirmaster and teacher Robert Fleming (1921 – 1976) was born in Saskatchewan. He began to study music at a young age with his mother, and in his 20s, he attended The Royal Conservatory of Music. Along with orchestral and chamber music, choral works and ballets, Fleming was first staff composer and then music director for the National Film Board of Canada, and wrote music for more than 250 film scores, including the Canada at War series. His music is largely tonal and incorporates a variety of traditional techniques and forms.
Harry Somers
Harry Stewart Somers (1925 – 1999) was a pianist and a prolific composer whose works are still performed today around the world. He made the switch from pianist to composer in 1948, and later learned to play guitar. Along with concert pieces, he wrote music for stage, film, radio, and television, and, known for his impeccable handwritten scores, earned extra money as a copyist. His work incorporates various elements, including voices, both acoustic and synthetic sounds, and he composed in many different forms. His music is characterizes by its strong emotions, and a wide dynamic range that he dubbed “dynamic unrest.” Highlights include commissions for the Stratford Festival and National Ballet, and a work written for the Hungarian Quartet.
Michael Tippett
English composer Sir Michael Tippett (1905–1998) was known for a diverse catalogue of works, including oratorios, operas, and orchestral pieces. During his lifetime, he gained renown after WWII, and was considered on the same level as Benjamin Britten. He was knighted in 1966. His music often blended classical modernism with other genres such as jazz and early music. Key works include his opera The Midsummer Marriage, and Fantasia Concertante on a Theme of Corelli.
The Concert
Piano Lunaire’s events take place on the full moon of each month. In Toronto, the venue is at 1001 R Bloor Street West (down the south laneway to the scarlet building double white doors.)
- Find concert details and tickets [HERE].
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