Kevin Fitz-Gerald
USC Thornton School of Music
Critically acclaimed pianist, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, enjoys a versatile performing career as recitalist, orchestra soloist and chamber musician. His performances have garnered international praise 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, Europe, China, Japan, 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 major Canadian and American orchestras. Recent orchestral performances have included concerti by Dvorak, Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Scharwenka and Balakirev. Mr. Fitz-Gerald’s concerts have frequently been recorded for local, national and international radio and television networks and his CD recordings can be found on the Summit, Quatro Corde, AFCM, Yarlung, GM, Centaur, Nipha, Yamaha PianoSoft and Ivory Classics record labels.
In constant demand as a chamber musician, he has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as Hagai Shaham, Raphael Wallfisch, Midori, Stephen Isserlis, Anne Akiko Meyers, Richard Stolzman, Alan Civil, Camilla Wicks, Eudice Shapiro, Milton Thomas, Karen Tuttle, Donald McInnes, Ronald Leonard, the Bartok, St. Petersburg and St. Lawrence String Quartets.
For many years he was studio pianist in summer programs for many 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.
Mr.Fitz-Gerald also enjoys an international reputation as a teacher, presenting master classes 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, Washington 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, LA 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 performing, recording and teaching at many of the finest festivals, conservatories and universities throughout the world.
In addition to his position as Professor of Piano Performance and Collaborative Arts at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, Mr. Fitz-Gerald is also a regular visiting artist teacher at the Banff School of Fine Arts, a frequent guest master class teacher at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, as well as visiting faculty at many other national and international music festivals and institutions throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Mr. 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. A winner of several prestigious competitions, grants and awards, he has also worked extensively with Menahem Pressler, John Perry, Gyorgy Sebok and Leon Fleisher.