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2023 Concerts Featuring Our Steinway D606

Southminster United Church is pleased to be hosting these concerts in partnership with Master Piano Recital Series (MPRS). Presented as part of our promise to the community and to donors during the 2020 Steinway Piano Fundraising Project, these concerts will offer superb emerging and established pianists in celebration of the arrival of the 9’ Steinway D606 to our church. 

Sofya Gulyak

Friday, March 3, 7:00 pm. Tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/514092393187

  

To kick things off, piano fans will be treated to the dynamite playing of Russian virtuoso, Sofya Gulyak. Praised for "tremendous precision and colouration" by the Washington Post, Sofya’s resumé includes top prizes from many prestigious competitions, among them Leeds, at which, as the first woman in history, she won Gold Medal in 2009.

 

Keeping busy during the pandemic, she spent a lot of time since her last Ottawa visit learning new repertoire and reframing her views on performing. The lockdown afforded her, in Sofya’s own words, “time to revaluate life and reflect on how fragile things are”. A performer through and through, she is delighted to back on-stage playing works by Rachmaninov, Stravinsky, and Scriabin for lovers of Russian piano music in Ottawa this March.

 

Jaeden Izik-Dzurko

Sunday, April 30, 7:00 pm. Tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/516869670097

  

Having presented pianists before they were famous several times over – Charles Richard-Hamelin and Bruce Liu come to mind – it’s no wonder there’s keen interest in playing for the MPRS among the best in emerging talent, and 23-year-old Jaeden Izik-Dzurko from Salmon Arm British Columbia is no exception.

 

Hailed for the communicative power and thoughtfulness of his playing, Jaeden has given solo recitals and performed with orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic. In August 2022, he was broadcast nationally on CBC’s In Concert with Paolo Pietropaolo, playing his live submission to the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, which he ultimately won first prize.

D606

Southminster acquired the 9-foot Steinway D606 in 2020 following an ambitious fundraising campaign driven by MPRS Artistic Director Roland Graham, drawing support from piano lovers in Ottawa. It is a special and unique instrument - among the finest in the region - in high demand for recitals, recordings and community programing. The church is honoured to be extending access to the piano for these concerts.

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