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Jon Kimura Parker, Canada's Superstar pianist

Thursday, November 5 2009

Blyth Festival hosts one of Canada’s Superstar Pianists

Jon Kimura Parker in concert, November 5, 2009 in Memorial Hall

Internationally acclaimed concert pianist, Jon Kimura Parker’s extraordinary career has taken him from Carnegie Hall and London's Royal Festival Hall to Baffin Island and Zimbabwe. A true Canadian ambassador of music, Mr. Parker has given two command performances for Queen Elizabeth II, special performances for the United States Supreme Court, and has performed for the Prime Ministers of Canada and Japan. He is an Officer of The Order of Canada, this country's highest civilian honor. And, Mr. Parker will appear on the Blyth Festival stage on Thursday, November 5^th.

As a member of the outreach project "PianoPlus," Mr. Parker tours remote areas including the Canadian Arctic, performing classical music and rock 'n' roll on everything from upright pianos to electronic keyboards.

This season Mr. Parker performs as concerto soloist with fifteen symphony orchestras in North America with conductors including Hans Graf, Jeffrey Kahane, David Robertson, Michael Stern, and Pinchas Zukerman. An active media personality, Mr. Parker has hosted the classical music television series "Whole Notes," on Bravo! Canada. He also hosted CBC Radio Two's five-part series "Up And Coming," showcasing young musicians. He has played himself in a guest appearance on the Disney Channel's "Under the Umbrella Tree" and was also seen on CNN performing in war-torn Sarajevo, and documented on PBS's "The Visionaries."

A committed educator, Jon Kimura Parker is Professor of Piano at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston. His former student Jade Simmons was recently named the first New Music/New Places Fellow by New York's Concert Artists Guild. Mr. Parker is the E. Stephen Purdom Distinguished Visiting Artist at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, as well as Honorary Co-Chair of the Piano Pedagogy Research Laboratory at the University of Ottawa. Mr. Parker has given master classes and lectures at The Juilliard School, The Steans Institute, and Yale University. Jon Kimura Parker is also the Artistic Advisor of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival.

“Jackie" Parker was born, raised and educated in Vancouver. He received all of his early education in Canada, training with his uncle, Edward Parker and his mother, Keiko Parker. He studied with Lee Kum-Sing at the Vancouver Academy of Music and University of British Columbia, Marek Jablonski at The Banff Centre, and with renowned pedagogue Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School, where he received his doctorate. He won the Gold Medal at the 1984 Leeds International Piano Competition. He lives in Houston with his wife, violinist Aloysia Friedmann, and their daughter Sophie.

The Blyth Festival is proud to present Jon Kimura Parker in Blyth Memorial Hall on Thursday, November 5, 2009. Tickets are on sale now for the 8 p.m. concert for just $20 per person. Call the Blyth Festival Box Office at 519-523-9300, 1-877-862-5984 toll free or visit www.blythfestival.com.

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NEWS & EVENTS

ARCHIVE OF PRESS RELEASES

Jon Kimura Parker, Canada's Superstar pianist

Thursday, November 5 2009