Brian returns to Spoleto, Italy this summer to perform with Claudia Warburg and Niccolo Muti, violin; Robert Dan, viola; and Evan Mitchell, piano. Highlights include Mendelssohn String Quartet Op. 13, Barber Cello Sonata Op. 6, Beethoven String Quartet Op. 95, Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello, and Brahms Piano Quintet Op. 34. In the fall, he will be performing the Schubert Quintet for Strings as a guest with the Emily Carr String Quartet. Next spring, he makes his concerto debut with the Victoria Symphony performing the soulful Schumann Cello Concerto.

Brian is being featured as one of CBC Music’s Next! artists for 2013, which is a series that presents eight rising Canadian stars in classical music, recorded for broadcast on CBC Radio 2’s In Concert. The broadcast on Sunday, February 17 will include music by Haydn, Poulenc, Martinu and Vincent Ho. In case you miss it, you can check out Brian’s performance here.

Check out Brian’s conversation last spring with Sheryl MacKay, the host of North by Northwest on CBC Radio One: http://www.cbc.ca/video/watch/AudioMobile/North by Northwest/ID=2241594816

Brian is performing a 10-concert Canadian tour from November 4 to November 25, 2012 as first-prize winner of the 35th Eckhardt-Gramatté (E-Gré) National Music Competition. He will be joined by pianist Eliza Ching of Houston, TX. Check out the schedule.

Each concert will feature the 2012 commissioned work—String Theory by John Burge. Other works to be performed are by Elizabeth Raum, Francis Poulenc, Vincent Ho, and Gary Kulesha.

Brian was awarded the Prize for the Best performance of a Canadian work at the 2012 Stepping Stone Competition, which took place June 3-10 in Ottawa, ON. He performed in his semifinal program Vincent Ho’s Stigmata for solo violoncello. Article from The Vancouver Sun

The 35th annual E-Gré Competition took place in Lorne Watson Recital Hall at the Brandon University School of Music May 4 – 6, 2012. Brian won the 1st Prize, which includes $5000, a Canadian recital tour, and a three-week residency and recital with the Casalmaggiore International Festival in Italy. Brian also received the City of Brandon prize of $1000, which is awarded to the performer who, in the jury’s opinion, gave the best performance of the commissioned piece, String Theory, by Ontario composer John Burge. Brian’s collaborative pianist, Eliza Ching, won the Best Collaborative Pianist prize of $500 for her outstanding performance of some truly demanding repertoire in the competition. She is a doctoral candidate in Collaborative Piano at the University of Maryland, College Park. See the official press release: 2012 Comp Final Results

The Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition is the most important annual contemporary music competition for exceptional emerging Canadian performing artists in piano, voice, and strings. Since 1976, the E-Gré Competition has promoted the performance of Canadian and contemporary music of the 20th and 21st centuries and has commissioned 31 new works by leading Canadian composers. The 2012 competition for strings will take place May 4-6 at Brandon University in Brandon, MB . In addition to the newly commissioned work by John Burge, Brian will be performing works by George Crumb, Alexina Louie, and Talivaldis Kenins in the semifinals. For more information, go to http://e-gre.ca/.