Faculty

Pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald enjoys a versatile performing career as recitalist, orchestra soloist and chamber musician. His performances have garnered international acclaim and he has been recognized for his “hypnotically powerful and precise” pianism and “dynamic and distinguished” interpretations. His concert tours and performances have taken place in major concert halls, universities and concert organizations throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, Australia, Mexico, South America, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Notable venues include Carnegie Recital Hall (New York), The Mormon Tabernacle (Utah), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Roy Thompson Hall (Toronto), Place des Arts (Montreal), Izumi Hall (Osaka), Suntori Hall (Tokyo), National Gallery (Kingston) and Town Hall (Melbourne). He has appeared with several Canadian and American orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Canadian Chamber Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Los Angeles Cameratta, Utah Chamber Orchestra and the Mormon Tabernacle Orchestra at Temple Square. Recent orchestral performances have included concerti by Dvorak, Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn, Balakirev, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Berg and Scharwenka.

Fitz-Gerald’s concerts have frequently been recorded for local, national and international radio, and television networks in Canada, the U.S., South America, France, Japan, China, Korea and Australia. His CD recordings can be found on the Summit, Quatro Corde, AFCM, Centaur, GM, Yamaha PianoSoft and Ivory Classics records labels. In constant demand as a chamber musician, he has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as: Hagai, Shaham, Patrick Gallois, Stephen Isserlis, Anne Akiko Meyers, Richard Stolzman, Alan Civil, Camilla Wicks, Midori, Eudice Shapiro, Milton Thomas, Karen Tuttle, Donald McInnes, Ronald Leonard, the Bartok, St. Petersburg and St. Lawrence String Quartets.

For many years, Fitz-Gerald was studio pianist in summer programs for some of the leading artist-teachers of our time, including William Primrose, Lillian Fuchs, Zara Nelsova, Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Zoltan Szekely, Lorand Fenyves and Marcel Moyse. He regularly performs two-piano and four-hand recitals with Bernadene Blaha, appearing at prestigious festivals, conventions, music teacher’s symposiums and concert venues throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The Blaha/Fitz-Gerald Duo has performed extensively throughout Canada under the auspices of the Piano Six program, the Canada Council Touring Office and the Cross Country Classics program.

Fitz-Gerald also enjoys an international reputation as a teacher, presenting masterclasses and lecture-symposiums throughout the world. His students have been prize-winners in many major piano and chamber music competitions, including: the Rubinstein International Piano Competition, Vilna International Piano Competition, IBLA International Piano Competition, American Orff-Schullwerke International Competition, ARD International Piano Competition, the Music Teacher’s National Association national competition, Los Angeles Liszt International Piano Competition, Jean Francaix International Competition, Canadian National Music Competitions and the Colman National Chamber Music Competition.

Today his students can be found winning competitions, performing, recording and teaching at many of the finest conservatories and universities throughout the world. In addition to his position as Professor of Piano Performance and Collaborative Arts at USC Thornton, Fitz-Gerald is also a regular visiting artist-teacher at the Banff School of Fine Arts, a frequent masterclass teacher at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, the Aria International Summer Institute in Indiana, as well as visiting faculty at many other national and international music festivals and institutions throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Fitz-Gerald was a full scholarship student at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, The Banff Centre School of Fine Arts and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where his principal teachers were Marek Jablonski, Robin Wood and Alma Brock-Smith. In addition, he has worked extensively with Menahem Pressler, John Perry, Gyorgy Sebok and Leon Fleisher. He has won several prestigious competitions, grants and awards, including the Du Maurier Search for the Stars, CBC National Radio Auditions and the Young Artists’ National Piano Competition.

Career Highlights:

• Concert performances at major concert venues such as Carnegie Recital Hall, National Arts Center, Mormon Tabernacle, Disney Hall, Place des Arts, National Gallery, Roy Thompson Hall, Dorothy Chandler, Town Hall
• Performances with internationally acclaimed artists such as Camilla Wicks, Anne Akiko Meyers, Richard Stolzman, Midori, Alan Civil, Milton Thomas, Patrick Gallois, Hagai Shaham, Eudice Shapiro, Donald McInnes, Lillian Fuchs
• Featured regularly on local, national and international radio and television
• Concert tours throughout Canada, USA, South America, Caribbean, Australia, Asia
• Recorded CDs for Summit, Quatro Corde, AFCM, Ullanta, GM, Centaur, Yahama PianoSoft and Ivory Classics Records
• Students have won numerous awards and top prizes in prestigious regional, national and international competitions; become professors, directors, deans, conductors, performers and coaches of and at established music schools, music organizations and major ensembles

Honors, Awards & Competitions:

• Winner of the National Young Artists Piano Competition
• Winner of the Du Maurier Search for Stars National Television Competition
• Winner of the CBC National Radio Auditions Competition
• Winner of the Friends of Chamber Music National Competition
• Winner of the CFMX Professional Studies Grant

Music Festivals:

• The Banff School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada
• Aria International Summer Music School, BSU, Indiana
• Australian National Academy International Chamber Music Institute, Melbourne, Australia
• Newport International Music Festival, Newport, RI
• San Miguel d’Allende International Festival, Mexico

Recordings:

• Franck and Brahms Violin Sonatas with Petteri Iivonen, Yarlung 2011
• Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Piano Works, Yamaha PianoSoft, 2010
• Liszt Piano Works, Ivory Classics 2009
• The Art of the Violin with Petteri Iivonen, Yarlung, 2009
• Lazaroff Concerto for 2 Pianos with Bernadene Blaha, Centaur, 2009
• Horn Sonatas from 3 Centuries with Richard Todd, GM Records, 2003
• 20th Century Chamber Music with St. Petersburg Quartet, TCMF, 2001
• Saint-Saens Chamber Works with David Hickman et al, Summit, 1994

Compositions:

• Concert Paraphrase on Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream (après Liszt et Horowitz) 2005
• Grande Etude de Concert (after Moscheles “Hommage a Handel”) 2004
• Cadenzas to Beethoven Concerto Op.15, 2001
• Cadenzas to Mozart Concerto K.449, 1998

Publications:

• Various reviews and articles for American Music Teacher

Other academic experience:

• A.V.C.M. – Associate of the Victoria Conservatory of Music (performance), 1980
• A.V.C.M. – Associate of the Victoria Conservatory of Music (pedagogy), 1980
• L.V.C.M. – Licentiate of the Victoria Conservatory of Music (performance)
• 1981 Artist Diploma – Professional Studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music, 1989
• A.A.(MUS) – Associate Arts Degree, 1980

Studied with:

• Marek Jablonski
• Robin Wood
• Alma Brock-Smith
• Menahem Pressler
• John Perry