ARTISTS


JAMIE PARKER
PIANO

GALLERY | BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | CONCERTO | DISCOGRAPHY | LINKS


GALLERY



Photography   Shin Sugino, Toronto

Click each image to download


BIOGRAPHY

In the realm of Canadian pianists, James Parker, quite simply, is among the best known. Accomplished, versatile, brilliant, are descriptors frequently linked to this most sought after artist. Mr. Parker’s achievements are both lengthy and impressive. James’ musical roots can be traced to the Vancouver Academy of Music and the University of British Columbia where he studied with Kum Sing Lee. He then went on and received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts at The Juilliard School with Adele Marcus. Dr. Parker continues the teaching tradition as the Rupert E. Edwards Chair in Piano Performance on the music faculty at the University of Toronto.

Awards came early and often. Beginning in 1984 with a first prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition, James served notice that he was a rising star. The CBC competition concurred, selecting him winner of the 25th National Competition for Young Performers. The Virginia Parker Award as the most promising young classical artist soon followed, further solidifying Parker’s place as one of Canada’s best.

Concerts given by Dr. Parker consistently garner artistic acclaim. His style has earned him praise as “one of the most searching musical intellects and 10 of the nimblest fingers in the business” according to The Globe and Mail. James has enthralled audiences in North America and Europe, counting diplomats and dignitaries among his receptive audiences. He has made frequent appearances on CBC, and has performed on Bravo!, the CanWest Global Network, MuchMusic and a myriad of stations across the globe.

A consummate professional, James is recognized as a soloist, a chamber musician and as the pianist for Canada’s foremost ensemble, the Gryphon Trio. Add to this his critically acclaimed performances with major Canadian symphonies like Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Quebec City, Edmonton, National Arts Centre, Symphony Nova Scotia and many in between, one is reminded of the scope of his contributions to the national classical music scene. With three JUNO recording awards and many other nominations from his vast discography, James Parker continues to graciously strive to do it all. This season, amongst many performances as soloist and with the Gryphon Trio, Dr. Parker will appear in concerto with Esprit Orchestra and the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra among others.

Unofficially, he’s still Jamie to us.

James Parker is a Steinway Artist.

(as of September 2011)

REVIEWS

“Jamie Parker, whose musical imagination and gestural phrasing flew out from his fingers like spider-silk …”

-THE CHRONICLE HERALD

"James Parker is clearly a finished, accomplished pianist, possessed of secure technique, rock-solid rhythm and comfortable stage demeanour."

- THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Toronto

"Parker shaped the extended themes of Grieg’s concerto very persuasively and with great self-confidence."

- THE MONTREAL GAZETTE

"In every sense, this was an exquisite performance. Thoughtful, reflective, beautifully shaped and phrased, high-spirited in those moments that call for ebullience, poetic in those that call for depth of feeling..."

- TIMES-GLOBE, Saint John

"Parker delivers solid performance"

[Headline] - FREE PRESS, Winnipeg

"He is unquestionably enormously gifted for the piano."

- THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

PREFERRED CONCERTO LIST
2011-2013

Violet Archer   Divertimento for Piano and String
Beethoven   Concerto Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, The Choral Fantasy & Triple Concerto
T. Patrick Carrabre   Piano Concerto
Dohnanyi   Variations on a Nursery Song
Falla   Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Gershwin   Rhapsody in Blue
Grieg   Concerto
Khatchaturian   Piano Concerto
Constant Lambert   Rio Grande with Choir & Mezzo Soprano
Liszt   Concerto No. 1, Hungarian Fantasia, & Malediction
Mendelssohn   Concerto No. 1 & Capriccio Brilliant
Mozart   Concerto K. 414, K. 467, K. 488, Double Piano Concerto K. 365 & Triple Piano Concerto K. 242
Prokofiev   Concerto Nos. 1 & 2
Rachmaninov   Concerto Nos. 1 & 2
Ravel   Concerto in G major
Schumann   Concerto in a minor
Shostakovich   Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings
Harry Somers   Piano Concerto No. 3
Tchaikovsky   Concerto No. 1
John Weinzweig   Divertimento #10 for Piano and Strings

Recital repertoire available upon request
Master classes and workshops available
Other concerti available upon request


DISCOGRAPHY

Harry Somers – Celebration (Third Piano Concerto; w/ The Esprit Orchestra, Pauk)   CBC SMCD 5199
Azulao (Isabel Bayrakdarian, James Parker, Cello Ensemble)   CBC MVCD 1164
Jamie Parker – Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Stravinsky   RCI 649


LINKS

Artist Website
www.gryphontrio.com


ACADEMIC AFFILIATION

University of Toronto Faculty of Music
www.music.utoronto.ca/faculty