February 1st, 2016

Piano & Violin Soloists Join Forces to Present Five Extraordinary Concerts to Atlantic Canadians

 HALIFAX, NS – Incredible solo artists in their own right, Debut Atlantic has created a ‘super duo’ by teaming up Quebec-based pianist Maxim Bernard and Russian-Canadian violinist Stanislav Pronin for a tour throughout Atlantic Canada. Both artists are decorated prize winners and have performed as soloists in recital, with orchestra and chamber ensembles throughout Canada and internationally. Thrilling on their own, one can only imagine what these fantastic artists can do together!

The duo’s varied program is sure to enrapture audiences with both solo and duo works and will feature composers including Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Brahms and Frank as well as a new commission by Canadian composer Julien Bilodeau. Audiences will also be treated to a special piece for solo violin by Pronin himself. The tour begins on Friday, February 5^th with a concert for the Moncton Community Concert Association at 7:30pm. This concert will be held at the First Church of the Nazarene at 21 Fieldcrest Drive, Moncton. The duo then heads to Antigonish, NS for a performance for the Antigonish Performing Arts Series on Saturday, February 6^th at 8:00pm in Immaculata Hall on St. F.X. University’s campus. On Sunday, February 7^th, the duo will appear in Mahone Bay, NS for a 3:00pm performance for Musique Royale at Cecilia’s Retreat. On Tuesday, February 9^th, they set off to Corner Brook, NL for a performance at the Rotary Arts Centre at 8:00pm and will finish their tour in Wolfville, NS with a 2:00pm performance on Sunday, February 14^th for the Sunday Music in the Garden Room series held in the K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre on Acadia University campus.

In addition to their concert engagements, Maxim Bernard and Stanislav Pronin will be working with young students and performing at schools throughout the region. They will also participate in a videoconference session hosted by Newfoundland’s Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI) which reaches thousands of students throughout Newfoundland and Labrador and will be available for public viewing around the globe.

Please see the enclosed list of tour dates and artist biographies and come witness these two incredible musical forces merge for a performance you won’t soon forget!

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One of the most respected music touring organizations in the country, Debut Atlantic’s first season in 1979 featured then-emerging and still-unknown artists, pianist Jon Kimura Parker, tenor Ben Heppner, and Canada’s Baroque orchestra Tafelmusik.

Full details on Debut Atlantic’s concert seasons and education programs can be found at www.debutatlantic.ca

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 For further information, please contact:

Mhiran Faraday – Executive Director or

Erin Sparks – Program Officer

Debut Atlantic

902.429.6812

mdfaraday@debutatlantic.ca

erin@debutatlantic.ca

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Tour Schedule –Maxim Bernard, piano & Stanislav Pronin, violin

 

Moncton, New Brunswick

7:30pm, February 5^th, 2016

Moncton Community Concert Association

First Church of the Nazarene

21 Fieldcrest Drive

506-852-4491

monctonconcerts.googlepages.com

 

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

8:00pm, February 6^th, 2016

Antigonish Performing Arts Series

Immaculata Hall, St. FX University

902-863-1639

http://people.stfx.ca/msteinit/schedule.htm

 

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

3:00pm, February 7^th, 2016

Musique Royale

Cecilia`s Retreat

1199 Oakland Road

902-634-9994

musiqueroyale.com

 

Corner Brook, Newfoundland

8:00pm, February 9^th, 2016

Rotary Arts Centre

Lower level City Hall

709-630-0012

rotaryartscentre.yapsody.com

 

Wolfville, Nova Scotia

2:00pm, February 14^th, 2016

Sunday Music in the Garden Room

K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre

32 University Avenue

http://artsacadia.acadiau.ca/Sunday_Music_in_the_Garden_Room.html

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Biographies

Maxim Bernard, piano

Maxim Bernard discovered his passion at the age of 13. His development has been phenomenal; by age 18 he was invited to perform Beethoven’s magnificent Fourth Piano Concerto with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra!

In 2004, he met the legendary pianist Menahem Pressler at the Orford Arts Centre and the chemistry between them was immediate. After hearing Maxim play, Pressler declared “I believe in your future!” A few months later, Maxim was on his way to the University of Indiana to study with his new mentor, where he earned both his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Piano Performance. He developed his unique style, and music has become for him a spiritual experience. His sensitivity, his personal touch, and the contagious spontaneity he brings to his interpretations combine to make him an exceptional pianist.

He has been a prize winner at the CBC Young Artists Competition, the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition and at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Concerto Competition. In 2006, his career was launched after he won the prestigious International Stepping Stone of the Canadian Music Competition.

He taught for five years at Indiana University and his qualifications led him to serve on juries of many music competitions throughout Canada.

Maxim Bernard is a polyvalent musician who adores challenges. That is probably why conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin asked him to learn Ginastera’s challenging Second Piano Concerto in order to perform the Canadian premiere of the work with the Orchestre Métropolitain of Montreal at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal. The critic Claude Gingras from La Presse wrote: “The pianist was entirely up to the onerous task, both in power and in introspection. The conductor and orchestra were in perfect synchronisation with him and the spectacular result inspired a long and enthusiastic ovation from the hall.”

He looks forward to his debut in Brussels in 2016 where he will perform a recital in the great hall of the Centre for Fine Arts.

 

 

 

 

 

Stanislav Pronin, violin

Violinist and composer Stanislav Pronin was born in Moscow, Russia and began his violin studies upon his immigration to Israel at the age of 8. His first teacher was his grandfather, Veniamin Pronin, a student of Pyotr Stoliarskiy and former Professor at the Odessa Conservatoire. Stanislav continued his studies at Indiana University with Nelli Shkolnikova and Jaime Laredo, and later at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, Germany, with Professor Zakhar Bron.

 

Stanislav’s professional career began following his solo debut in Israel at the age of 10. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician at many festivals including Verbier Festival and Interlaken Classics in Switzerland, Banff Festival and Stratford Festival in Canada, Kronberg Festival in Germany, etc. He performs regularly in USA, Canada, Europe and Scandinavia, and in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Miller Theatre, Musikhuset Aarhus, National Arts Centre Ottawa, Perlman Theatre in Philadelphia, and so on. He has collaborated with numerous conductors including Leonard Slatkin, Herbert Blomstedt, Antonio Mendez, Sigiswald Kuijken, Andrew Constantine and Joshua Weilerstein. As chamber musician, he has collaborated with Jan Lisiecki, Jaime Laredo, James Campbell, Mark Kaplan, Bion Tsang, Orion String Quartet, Victor Danchenko, Julian Milkis, Anton Nel, Emille Naoumoff and Lera Auerbach. An avid performer of new music, Stanislav has worked with and premiered works of such composers as John Adams, Fabian Panisello, Ned Rorem, Toivo Tulev, Hans Abrahamsen and Lera Auerbach.
Stanislav’s recordings, including his solo CD debut on Naxos/Sono Luminus labels, have been broadcast on numerous radio and television channels including WDR Köln, RTS-1 Belgrade, CBC Canada, Radio Klassisk Denmark, Interlochen Public Radio, WFMT Chicago Classical, etc.

 

Stanislav is a recipient of multiple awards from such organization as the American String Teachers Association, America-Israel Cultural Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts and Classical Artists Development Foundation. He performs on a Nicola Bergonzi violin from 1785, and the ex-Ysaye, ex-Flesch Voirin bow, generously on loan from a private donor.