NEWS RELEASE Wilfrid Laurier University

Renowned performer/educator to deliver piano masterclasses

Gilbert Kalish has devoted long career to infusing classical music with modern meaning For Immediate Release March 15, 2004 17-04 Contact: Dr. Charles Morrison Dean, Faculty of Music (519) 884-0710 ext. 2151 or Dr. Heather Dawn Taves, Piano Professor, Faculty of Music (519) 884-0710 ext. 2376

WATERLOO - One of North America's leading piano performers and educators will deliver a series of masterclasses, one of them open to the public, at Wilfrid Laurier University. Gilbert Kalish will conduct five masterclasses, as well as a studio workshop for piano majors and a faculty forum on developing graduate programs in music, on March 23 and 24. The Tuesday night piano masterclass, held in the Maureen Forrester Recital Hall from 7 to 9 p.m., is open to the public and admission is free. Audience members can watch Kalish work with students, as he helps them with their technique and with how they interpret the music. Kalish is best known as an educator and performer who has devoted his career to bridging the gulf between classical works and contemporary culture. He believes that art should not be treated as museum pieces. Rather, it's the starting point of new works that address and reflect everyday contemporary life. . "Great art and literature are made to challenge people to make changes to their world and that's a founding principle that Gilbert Kalish tries to foster," explains Heather Dawn Taves, a piano professor at Laurier and one of four members of the faculty of music who studied under Kalish. "He encourages original and groundbreaking interpretations of classical pieces, is a strong advocate for new compositions and living composers, and believes that education should teach creativity."

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Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5 (519) 884-1970 Ext. 3070 Fax: (519) 884-8848

Kalish was the pianist with the Boston Symphony Chamber Players for 30 years and was a founding member of the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, a group devoted to new music that flourished during the 1960s and 1970s. He is frequent guest artist with many of the world's most distinguished chamber ensembles. His 30-year partnership with the great mezzo-soprano Jan De Gaetani was universally recognized as one of the most remarkable artistic collaborations of modern times. He also maintains long-standing duos with cellists Timothy Eddy and , and appears frequently with soprano . Kalish is a founder, distinguished professor and head of performance activities at the State University of at Stony Brook. From 1968 to 1997 he was a faculty member of the Tanglewood Music Center and served as chairman of the Tanglewood faculty from 1985 to 1997. He often serves as guest artist at such distinguished music institutions as The Banff Centre, the Steans Institute at Ravinia and the Marlboro Festival. Kalish's discography of some 100 recordings encompasses classical repertory, 20th century masterworks and new compositions. Of special note are his solo recordings of ' Concord Sonata and Sonatas of Joseph Haydn, an immense discography of vocal music with De Gaetani and landmark works by such iconographic composers of the 20th century as , , and Arnold Schonberg. In 1995 he was presented with the Paul Fromm Award by the music department for distinguished service to the music of our time. In January of 2002 he received the Chamber Music of America's Service Award for his exceptional contributions in the field of chamber music. Kalish's visit is part of the Laurier faculty of music's distinguished artist masterclass series. The series began last year when Frederica von Stade, one of the world's leading mezzo sopranos, taught and performed at Laurier.

Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5 (519) 884-1970 Ext. 3070 Fax: (519) 884-8848