Instrument: piano
Magnetic, easy-going, and delightfully articulate, Canadian pianist Ian Parker captivates audiences wherever he goes. He has appeared with the symphonies of Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Quebec, Cincinnati, Honolulu, and Jacksonville, among others, as well as with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, CBC Vancouver Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Greenwich Symphony, Mobile Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestra.
An enthusiastic recitalist, Ian Parker has performed across the United States, Western Europe, Israel, and throughout Canada on tours with Debut Atlantic and Jeunesses Musicales of Canada. He made his Lincoln Center recital debut at the Walter Reade Theatre in 2004, and moderates a new recital series in Vancouver for the introduction of young artists.
Mr. Parker was invited to collaborate with the internationally renowned Vogler Quartet during its twentieth anniversary tour in 2005-06 throughout the U.S. and Canada. Following the tour’s tremendous success, he was invited to join them again for several concerts in the spring of 2006, as well as for an extensive North American tour in the 2006-07 season.
A First Prize winner at the 2001 CBC National Radio Competition, Ian Parker has also won the Grand Prize at the Canadian National Music Festival, the Corpus Christi International Competition, and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Competition. At The Juilliard School, he received the 2002 William Petschek Piano Debut Award and, on two occasions, was the winner of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition. Heard regularly on CBC Radio, Mr. Parker has also performed live on WQXR (hosted by Robert Sherman) in New York.
Born in Vancouver to a family of pianists, Ian Parker began his piano studies at age three with his father, Edward Parker. He holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Yoheved Kaplinsky. While at Juilliard, the Canada Council for the Arts awarded him the Sylva Gelber Career Grant, which is given annually to the “most talented Canadian artist.”