Artist in Residence
Eve Egoyan is an internationally active Canadian pianist and composer of Armenian heritage. She was trained in the classical piano repertoire in Canada, England, and Germany, and completed an MMus degree at the University of Toronto in 1992. She has released over a dozen solo CDs concentrating on contemporary repertoire by Canadian and international composers, including many works commissioned for her. During the past 15 years, Egoyan has explored the use of cutting-edge technology to expand the expressive possibilities of the acoustic piano and incorporate real-time audio and visual effects into live performance. More recently, she has been researching and performing music by Armenian composers.
Fellowship Project: In Stone
The highlight of Egoyan’s residency will be the première of “In Stone”, a composition for augmented acoustic piano reflecting on the Armenian Genocide using musical fragments and considering nature as witness. From 1915 to 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed, and half a million survivors were exiled by the Ottoman Empire. The widespread violence, forced deportations, starvation, and mass killings inflicted upon the Armenian population, which still remains unacknowledged by its perpetrators, became a template for subsequent genocides. “In Stone” will be premiered on March 12 at 12:10 p.m. in Walter Hall at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto. Entrance is free. www.eveegoyan.com