DESCRIPTION:
More about the Heather Schmidt Piano Concerto No. 3 for piano and strings, part of the Tribute to Canadian Women Composers November 24, 2013 at The Music Gallery, Toronto...

PIANIST CHRISTINA PETROWSKA QUILICO PERFORMS WITH
JACQUES ISRAELIEVITCH & THE KOFFLER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Pianist Christina Petrowska Quilico, one of Canada's leading interpreters of contemporary music, joined the Koffler Chamber Orchestra and conductor Jacques Israelievitch for Music She Wrote: A Tribute to Canadian Women Composers.

The concert, featuring two piano concertos and two works for orchestra, took place Sunday, November 24, 2013 at 7 p.m. at The Music Gallery, 197 John Street, Toronto.

Christina Petrowska Quilico joined the Orchestra and Maestro Israelievitch for piano concerti by two Canadian women composers: Piano Concerto No. 3 for piano and strings by Heather Schmidt; and Divertimento for Piano and Strings by Violet Archer (1913-2000).

As well, the Koffler Chamber Orchestra also performs two orchestral works: Webster's Spin by Ann Southam (1937-2010), and A Prayer by Larysa Kuzmenko.

It is interesting that Christina Petrowska Quilico has been connected with the music of all four composers. She gave the North American premiere of the Archer concerto in the 1980s. Heather Schmidt wrote her second piano concerto for Petrowska Quilico. It was Petrowska Quilico's CD performances of piano concerti by Schmidt and Kuzmenko, as well as her CD of Southam's Glass Houses that garnered JUNO nominations for all 3 composers.

The concert is the first in the 2013-14 season of the Koffler Chamber Orchestra. The Koffler Chamber Orchestra is the only one of its kind in Toronto, comprising some of the city's best-regarded professional musicians, who perform with community members and music students under the direction of acclaimed violinist and former TSO Concertmaster Jacques Israelievitch.

CHRISTINA PETROWSKA QUILICO
http://PetrowskaQuilico.com
http://ChristinaPetrowskaQuilico.com

Hailed by the New York Times at 14 for her "promethean talent" after making her orchestral debut along with Murray Perahia, Christina Petrowska Quilico has appeared at Carnegie, Alice Tully & Merkin Halls. She has also been soloist with the Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver & Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestras, Kindred Spirits Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, as well as with orchestras in the U.S. and Canada, Taiwan and Greece; and with leading Canadian smaller ensembles.

Juilliard-trained, she studied in Europe with famed composers, and has long been one of Canada's leading interpreters of new music -- premiering 16 piano concerti and recording numerous contemporary works -- four earning JUNO Awards nominations -- as well as standard repertoire. Among her 30-some recorded titles are eight piano concerti.

In 2014, Petrowska Quilico tours Canada's East Coast, playing the music of Ann Southam for Toronto Dance Theatre's acclaimed production, Rivers; performs Visions, the music of Constantine Caravassilis (released in 2013 on Centrediscs); releases a new two-CD set, Tangos Brasileiros, on the Marquis label (MAR 81519); and a further CD, Ann Southam's Glass Houses Vol. 2, completing the entire set of "Glass Houses" for Centrediscs.

Since 1987, she has been a Full Professor of Piano and Musicology at York University.

JACQUES ISRAELIEVITCH
http://Israelievitch.com

Internationally renowned violinist Jacques Israelievitch is one of the most distinguished concert artists in North America. Born in France, Mr. Israelievitch made his debut on French National Radio at the age of 11 and graduated from the Paris Conservatory at just 16, upon which he was a prizewinner at the Paganini International Competition. At age 23, he was appointed by Sir Georg Solti as Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1978, he became Concertmaster of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. The 2007-2008 season marked Mr. Israelievitch's 20th and final year as Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra -- the longest such tenure in the ensemble's history.

As violinist and pianist, Jacques Israelievitch and Christina Petrowska Quilico have given a number of duo recitals, in music ranging from Mozart to modern.

KOFFLER CENTRE OF THE ARTS
http://kofflerarts.org

Koffler Centre of the Arts is Canada's only multidisciplinary, contemporary Jewish cultural institution. It has a broad mandate to welcome all and present a wide range of artistic programs, through a global lens, in a distinctly Canadian context.

Koffler Centre of the Arts acknowledges the support of Cultural Season Sponsor CIBC Wood Gundy,
the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ontario Arts Council through the Community and Multidisciplinary
Arts Organizations Program, our patrons and members. The Koffler Centre of the Arts is an agency of
the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. The Koffler Chamber Orchestra is generously supported by Leslie
Dan and Family.