Abbotsford – The Fraser Valley Symphony presents: Schubert – Piano Concerto Symphony No.4, “The Tragic”featuring Michelle Mares, Piano.
Sunday April 2 at 3PM – Matsqui Centennial Auditorium.
A native of Vancouver, Canada, Michelle Mares began her musical studies at the age of 4 as a student at the Vancouver Academy of Music. She amassed a great deal of performing experience as a child prodigy and drew the attention of many notable musicians, including András Schiff, Ivan Moravec and Gaby Casadesus.
She gave her first full length recital at the age of 10 and in the same year, appeared for the first time as a soloist with the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, Austria. At the age of 12, she was personally invited by the world renowned pedagogue, Karl Heinz Kämmerling to study with him in Germany and worked with him there. From that point on, she routinely won top prizes in competitions including the CBC Young Performer’s Competition, the Hamburg Steinway Competition, the Montreal Symphony Competition, the S.A.C.E.M. Prize at the Casadesus International Competition and at the age of 17, top prize at the 1988 Geneva International Competition. She has also been awarded the Canada Council B grant on various occasions.
She has been mentored by some of the world’s most eminent musicians, studying with Canada’s own Jane Coop and subsequently, Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory. She received her performance degree at the Mozarteum Conservatory in Salzburg, Austria in 1995, after which, she moved to London, England where she enjoyed the rare privilege of studying with Alfred Brendel.
