Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa, piano
Dr. Iwaasa has performed as soloist and chamber musician in Canada, the United States and Germany. Hailed in the press as a "keyboard virtuoso," Iwaasa is known for her bold and innovative work. She has performed for Vancouver New Music, the Victoria Symphony, the Aventa Ensemble, Groundswell New Music, New Works Calgary, redshift, the Western Front, the Little Chamber Music Series That Could, Vancouver Pro Musica and has been broadcast on CBC Radio.  | In 2002 she performed as concerto soloist for the Vancouver New Music Ensemble's premier of James Maxwell's intueri, and in 2003 she collaborated with Judith Forst for the Victoria Symphony's performance of R. Murray Schafer's Adieu, Robert Schumann. Her duo Tiresias, with flutist Mark McGregor, recently had the honour of performing for Her Excellency Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Their debut CD, Delicate Fires, was produced on a grant from the Barbara Pentland fund to record the composer's music, toget her with newly commissioned works by Rodney Sharman, Jennifer Butler, and Jocelyn Morlock. | | Iwaasa's major teachers include Jane Coop, Menahem Pressler and Robin Wood. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of British Columbia, a Master of Music from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria, where she earned the Victoria Medal as the top graduating student in Fine Arts. She was also a two-time recipient of the prestigious Annual Grant from the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) for graduate studies at the the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin. Other awards include grants from the Canada Council, the BC Arts Council, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Alberta Heritage Foundation. Iwaasa is currently Piano Chamber Music Coordinator at UBC and Instructor. | | | |
