Christ First United Church – 151 Lakeshore Rd W, Mississauga – PWYW
This year’s PianoFest will feature hour-long recitals throughout the day by some of Ontario’s most inspirational and dynamic pianists and soloist – Luke Welch, Anya Alexeyev, Kevin Ahfat, and a special Four-Hand Piano event with Guy Few & Cheryl Duvall – stay tuned for schedule and more!
Luke Welch
Award-winning Canadian pianist Luke Welch was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and grew up nearby in Mississauga. He played his first public performance at age seven, and his early private piano teachers include Kyzysztof Jedrysik, Catherine Kuzeljevich, and John-Paul Bracey. He later graduated from Western University in Canada with Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and completed additional graduate studies in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Welch has also participated in the classes of Jean-Bernard Pommier, Cecile Ousset, Dang Thai Son, Stephane Lemelin, André Laplante. He has performed extensively on the international stage including appearances in Canada, United States of America, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and New Zealand.
Highlight performances include recitals at Beethoven Haus in Bonn, Germany, St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, and Castletown House in Ireland. He has also appeared at St. Andrew’s-on-the-Terrace in Wellington (New Zealand), Music Mondays in Toronto, the American Cathedral in Paris, Waalse Kerk in Breda (Netherlands), and Geelvinck Muziek Museum in Zutphen (Netherlands).
Welch made his debut as soloist with Durham Chamber Orchestra in Toronto and has since collaborated with a number of orchestras including the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Mumbles Symphony Orchestra, Winchmore String Orchestra, Greenway Strings, York Chamber Ensemble, and Oakville Symphony Youth Orchestra.
In addition to his performance commitments, he has also been highly sought after as an interdisciplinary collaborative pianist. He has worked closely with a number of renowned international academies and companies including Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Dans Ateliers, Holland Dance Festival, Codarts Rotterdam Conservatory, Royal Conservatory of the Hague, Dutch National Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada.
Welch’s recordings have international received critical acclaim, and his performances have been broadcast on CBC Radio, WQXR-FM in New York, WXXI in Rochester, KING-FM in Seattle, and Radio Classique. His most recent album, ‘Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: Piano Works’ has also been featured as CBC In Concert’s Album of the Week.
In addition to his published writing in the Globe and Mail (including ‘Life as Black Classical Pianist’, and ‘Black sopranos Othalie Graham, Audrey Dubois Harris and Measha Brueggergosman on inclusion and Black Lives Matter‘), La Scena Musicale Magazine, and WholeNote Magazine, he was named the 2018 recipient of the Harry Jerome Arts Award – distinguished with national recognition by the Black Business and Professional Association.
Welch has taught in both Canada and Europe, and was appointed to the Faculty of Piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music Oscar Peterson Program in 2022.
Anya Alexeyev
Born in Moscow into a family of concert pianists, Anya Alexeyev started studying at the Gnessin Music School at the age of five, and in 1989 entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory to become a student of the renowned professor Dmitri
Bashkirov; the following year she was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London (studio of Irina Zaritskaya). While there, Alexeyev won numerous prizes including Elizabeth, The Queen Mother’s Award for “the most outstanding contribution to the Royal College of Music”; the First Prize at the Newport International Piano Competition; Young Concert Artists Trust; and The Capital Radio/Anna Instone Memorial Prize.
Alexeyev has performed extensively in many countries across Europe (Britain, France, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Ireland, Greece, Germany and Macedonia), as well as in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Malaysia and South Africa.
She has performed in all of London’s major concert halls – Wigmore Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elisabeth Hall, and Barbican Hall; throughout her career she also appeared as soloist in such venues as Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Herodes Atticus Theatre at the Acropolis in Athens, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Great Hall in Moscow Conservatory, Philharmonia Hall in St.Petersburg, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Johannesburg Symphony Hall, Dewan Filarmonik in Kuala Lumpur, Palais Montcalm in Quebec City, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, and Bargemusic in New York.
She has performed concertos with numerous distinguished orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony, Vienna Chamber, The Philharmonia, Royal Scottish National, Deutschland Radio, City of Birmingham Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony and Sinfonietta, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, English Chamber, Belgian National Symphony and Quebec Symphony, collaborating with such conductors as Temirkanov, Simonov, Oramo, Bakels, Judd.
Alexeyev has a wide-ranging solo repertoire, from baroque to cutting edge contemporary music. In addition to enjoying playing standard concert pieces, she has been following her passion for discovering lesser-known music, which resulted in performances and recordings of rarely played works and premieres.
As a collaborative musician, she has participated in many chamber music festivals in Europe and North America.
Alexeyev has recorded for EMI, Dutton Epoch, Toccata Classics, and Marquis Classics labels. Her performances have been broadcast by BBC Radio 3 (UK), GMTV (UK), CBC (Canada), Deutschland Radio, and numerous other radio stations around the world.
Anya Alexeyev is a member of faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University, Taylor Academy for Young Artists, and Glenn Gould School.
Kevin Ahfat
An artist that “leaves no question about his riveting presentation and technical finesse” (Seattle Times), Canadian pianist KEVIN AHFAT is acclaimed to be “poised to become one of the young heirs of the classical piano realm, with a bold, boundary-pushing, millennial style matched by refined execution” (Vanguard Seattle). Possessing “a balanced mix of expressiveness and virtuosity” (Musical America), he “summons plenty of thunderpower in the big moments, but clearly values musicianship over mere showmanship” (American Record Guide).
Ahfat continues performances and recordings as the newest core member of the three-time Grammy-nominated ARC Ensemble, one of Canada’s preeminent chamber ensembles and foremost cultural forces. Their latest releases on Chandos Records have been nominated for a 2022 Juno Award, 2022 OPUS Klassik Award, as well as being named one of the “Top 10 classical musical albums of 2020” by The Boston Globe and one of WQXR’s “Best Classical Albums of 2020”.
Kevin was named one of CBC Music’s 30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30 in 2018 and subsequently released a live recording of Brahms from CBC’s Studio 211. Highlights of recent seasons include engagements as soloist throughout North America and abroad, including at Koerner Hall in Toronto, Maison symphonique in Montreal, Meridian Arts Centre and Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, Merkin Hall in New York, and with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles. Further highlights include a performance of Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov’s Postludium with the Esprit Orchestra, a return to the Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall for its first-ever Shostakovich Concerto Festival, as well as a partnership with Richard Alston & Juilliard Dance in their recreation of Alston’s Sheer Bravado (2006) in New York.
Kevin has had the privilege of sharing the stage with renowned artists across many genres, including Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Stefan Jackiw, SO Percussion, David Finckel, Sonia Rodriguez, and Jera Wolfe. Festival appearances include the, Music@Menlo, Rockport, & Montreal Chamber Music, and Fall for Dance North, Zhuhai, & Kyoto International Festivals. He has been broadcast locally and abroad several times on CBC Music’s In Concert program and WFMT’s Dame Myra Hess Series, and contributed his playing to Yamaha Canada’s recent Dear Glenn AI Project.
In early 2018, he was thrilled to give the North American Premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Third Sonata for Cello and Piano (1919), recently published by Bärenreiter-Verlag, with a longtime artistic collaborator, cellist Juliette Herlin. Last season, they gave the Sonata its Midwest Premiere on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago; the Canadian Premiere in Toronto later that year. In anticipation of this premiere, Kevin filmed & produced a mini-documentary titled Soirée pour Camille, a short film documenting the historical context of the work, the artistic partnership of Kevin & Juliette, and their joint exploration of French music.
Continuing his dynamic exploration of music in-tandem with film, he recently partnered with Riddle Films to release a cinematic performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition filmed live at Toronto’s Koerner Hall. A cinematic dance film by Toronto-based film director Vikram Dasgupta is slated for release in 2024 in partnership with Fall For Dance North.
Kevin recently worked with Juilliard Global Ventures as part of the Juilliard Open Classroom team where he helped to develop new digital learning environments to reach musicians across the globe. In this capacity, he offered his skills as a teacher, curriculum writer, and course builder to a number of online courses, including Juilliard Open Classroom’s first release: Sharpen Your Piano Artistry. He was a curriculum writer for Piano Preludes: Bach, Chopin, and Debussy, offered through the online education platform edX. Keen on developing the artistry of young musicians, he has presented masterclasses at Moravian College, Olympic College, the College of Southern Idaho, and the University of Las Vegas.
A two-time winner of the Juilliard Concerto Competition, Kevin completed principal studies at the Juilliard School in New York under the tutelage of Joseph Kalichstein and Stephen Hough, and was in-residence as a Rebanks Fellow at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. He is a grateful recipient of a Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award and was a NFMC Artist Award recipient.Kevin is Artistic Director of OPUS Chamber Music, Toronto’s newest premier hub for chamber music connecting audiences with dynamic and compelling artists who aim to excite, connect, and inspire.
Guy Few
Guy Few’s instrumental versatility and fearless interpretations have been noted by the international press, “Outrageous…simply phenomenal” (Le Devoir, Montreal) and “sheer brilliance” (L.A. Times). He has performed with many Canadian and US orchestras as both trumpet and piano soloist, remains a committed chamber artist in ensembles Few Mara duo, Spirit 20, Sounding Thunder and HEAT, and has been a guest at many festivals including The Festival of the Sound, Tanglewood, Takefu International Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Stratford Summer Music, Elora Festival and Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. A prolific recording artist, Guy has released CDs on numerous labels including S.N.E., Arsis Classics, CBC SM5000, Naxos, Hänssler Classics, MSR Classics and Centrediscs labels. Recording honours include JUNO finalist, (Canadian Concerto Project/g27/Paetkau/MSR) and Best Classical Orchestral Album, Just Plain Folks Music Awards, (Bacchanale/TCO/ Kevin Mallon/MSR). Guy has appeared on CBC-TV, CTV, BRAVO, TV5 and European television broadcasts and is heard regularly on CBC Radio, SiriusXM and NPR.
As a passionate soloist, recitalist and recording artist, Guy has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award (CCA) and CAPACOA Touring Artist of the Year. Guy shares his joy for music by adjudicating at the local, provincial and National level, judging piano, brass, woodwinds, music theatre and chamber music. He has been invited as a keynote speaker for symposia, organizations and universities including Bach and the Brain (OBF), SBIA, Brain Trust Canada, Surgery Grand Rounds-Saskatoon, WLU, SMFA and for radio including Peter Gzowski, Shelagh Rogers,
DNTO and others. Guy is a sessional lecturer at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, where he inspires as a coach/collaborative pianist and studio trumpet teacher. He is a gold medal graduate of WLU and holds a Fellowship Diploma from Trinity College, London, England. Guy is the Artistic Director of NUMUS Concerts, Kitchener, Ontario.
Cheryl Duvall
Toronto-based pianist Cheryl Duvall has established herself as one of Canada’s foremost contemporary music interpreters, immersing herself in a wide variety of compositional aesthetics and collaborative endeavours. She co-founded the “adventurous and smartly programmed” (Musicworks Magazine) chamber group Thin Edge New Music Collective alongside Ilana Waniuk in 2011. Since their inception, they’ve commissioned over 80+ works, mounting lavish multidisciplinary productions while collaborating with leading performers. TENMC was awarded the 2020 Friends of Canadian Music Award from the Canadian League of Composers and the Canadian Music Centre for being ‘an important musical innovator, working creatively across disciplines with an unwavering commitment to diverse and equitable programming’. Their 2023 release, Dark Flower, featuring the chamber works of Canadian composer Linda Catlin Smith has recently been featured on the BBC and CBC radio and was listed in the top 10 Modern Classical releases of 2023 by UK’s ‘The Wire’ Magazine. Her 2020 debut solo piano album Harbour, featuring the music of Canadian composer, Anna Hostman has been featured on the CBC radio and was chosen as the #1 Modern Composition Recording of 2020 by UK’s ‘The Wire’ Magazine and was nominated for a Juno for Classical Composition of the Year. Her 2nd solo album, Intimes exubérances, featuring an hour-long piano solo by Québécois composer, Patrick Giguère was released in April 2024. Cheryl is also the Artistic Director for The Chamber Music Society of Mississauga, the collaborative pianist for Durham Region’s Resound Choir and is a passionate music educator. She is the current Chair of the Music Committee with the Toronto Arts Council.