Ted Runcie, Composer-in-Residence

Born in Jamaica, growing up in Scarborough, Ted is a graduate of MacGill University in composition and conducting.

Over the years Runcie has composed a varied body of work including chamber music, solo instrumental works, choral works, art songs and symphonic works. He plans to write a series of operas on Caribbean subjects as well as to continue writing his series of ‘sinfoniettas’ based on Jamaican history.

His Jamaica Quartets No. 1 & 2 have been recorded by SPO’s ensemble-in-residence, the Odin Quartet.

 As a conductor and music educator, Ted was appointed Music Director of the Hsinchu Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hsinchu Philharmonic Youth Orchestra in Taiwan. He teaches at Yuteh and Chang Gung University in Taiwan.

Learn more about Ted and his music at: https://tedruncie.com

Odin Quartet

Alex Toskov | Tanya Charles  | Matt Antal | Samuel Bisson 

Passionate about chamber music, the Toronto-based Odin Quartet represents the diversity and the promise of youth in Canada. Named after the one-eyed Norse god, seeker of knowledge and holder of the wisdom of the world, the Odin Quartet explores the role of classical music in modern-day storytelling. Since 2015, the ensemble is also dedicated to making classical music accessible to new generations of listeners, by promoting modern Canadian compositions, including those of cellist Samuel Bisson, alongside classical music literature.
 
In June 2015, the Odin Quartet took part in the Luminato Festival’s epic production of R Murray Schafer’s 1980 oratorio Apocalypsis. Since their 2017 debut at the opening gala of the Music Niagara Festival, the Quartet has been a recurring performer at the summer festival, in 2019 and 2021. Other festival appearances include the University of Toronto’s New Music Festival, Midday Music with Shigeru, the Ottawa Valley Music Festival, Guelph Connections, and Music Mondays Toronto.
 
The Odin Quartet has enjoyed multiple collaborations with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra as its ensemble-in-residence since 2018; most recently, the quartet premiered a new piece for string quartet and symphony orchestra by Samuel Bisson, under the baton of Maestro Ron Royer.
 
The Quartet has recorded numerous film scores both locally and internationally and is regularly featured in musical projects by other Toronto artists.

Artist-in-Residence

Alexander Panizza, piano

 The Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra is proud to welcome Alexander Panizza as our Artist-in-Residence for our 2022-23 Season.

Alexander Panizza was born in Toronto and started his musical education at the Royal Conservatory of Music. As a teenager, he moved to Argentina for family reasons and was soon recognized as one of the most talented young musicians of his generation. He won several first prizes in competitions and received scholarships to further his studies in Paris and London. He completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Performance at the Royal College of Music in London, in the class of Irina Zaritskaya, where he was awarded the Esther Fisher Prize to the best performance of French music, the Frank Heneghan Prize for his version of Chopin, Rachmaninov and Scriabin’s studies, the Cyril Smith Prize for his rendering of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto and the Hopkinson Gold Medal and Shimmin Prize, in the College’s main piano competition.

With a career launched by excellent press reviews and recognized by prestigious awards like the Konex Prize, Alexander Panizza performs regularly in Europe and the Americas, both as a recitalist and as a soloist. His orchestral repertoire includes over thirty piano concerti. After his performance of Brahms’ Second Piano Concerto in Munich’s Herkulessaal, as part of a tour with the Brucknerakademie Orchester, the German press observed his virtuosity, his power and the quality of his touch (Süddeutszche Zeitung). Alexander was the soloist at the world premiere of Luis Mucillo’s Piano Concerto at Teatro Colón with Buenos Aires Philharmonic.

His performance as soloist of Ginastera’s First Piano Concerto at the Barbican Hall in London was praised by The Times and The Independent for his “real command of pianistic colour” and the “feeling and panache” of his version. The French press mentioned Panizza’s “fiery and passion” in a recital that was qualified as exceptional. Alexander Panizza’s live recording of the Beethoven Piano Sonatas Cycle inspired a documentary by Pablo Romano. Alexander Panizza. Just Piano (2013) received awards in many independent film festivals and portrays Alexander’s quest for “the perfect sound, the right silence”.

Alexander’s discography includes Alberto Ginastera’s complete piano works (Tradition), and works by David Winkler (Naxos, American composers’ series), Muzio Clementi (Cascade) and Carlos Guastavino (Espacio Santafesino). Based now in Toronto, Alexander has an intense activity as recitalist and soloist with orchestra, participating regularly in chamber music festivals and offering master classes throughout the Americas. He also collaborates regularly with non-profit institutions and government agencies projects such as the United Nations Blue Heart Campaign. Alexander is now developing his activities in the digital realm. His video works combine music with visual arts, literature, and film.

Alexander will be releasing a new commercial CD in March 2022, so stay tuned for more information.

More information can be found at www.alexanderpanizza.com.

Photo credit: Jamie Way