Pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa (UVic BMus ’93) and violinist Sarah Westwick perform a concert of works for violin and piano by historical and contemporary women composers including lsabella Leonarda, Amanda Maier, Florence Price, Leslie Uyeda and Maria Kaneko Millar, Elizabeth Raum, and Jessie Montgomery.

Join us afterwards for a post-concert reception with the artists.

BIOGRAPHIES
Hailed as a “keyboard virtuoso and avant-garde muse” (Georgia Straight) whose “emotional intensity” transforms music “from notes on a page to a stunning work of art” (Victoria Times Colonist), Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa is recognized among Canada’s foremost contemporary music pianists. Rachel’s reputation for fearless performative risk has drawn many of Canada’s most notable composers to write for her, including Hildegard Westerkamp, Rodney Sharman, Jocelyn Morlock, Nicole Lizée, Farshid Samandari, Emily Doolittle, Jeffrey Ryan, Leslie Uyeda, and Jordan Nobles. The Canadian League of Composers recently commissioned Cris Derksen to compose a piece for Rachel as an official selection for the ISCM World New Music Days 2023 in Johannesburg. One half of the acclaimed contemporary flute/piano duo Tiresias with Mark Takeshi McGregor, Rachel has also performed with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Judith Forst, the Bozzini Quartet, Heather Pawsey, Gabriel Kahane, Caroline Shaw, and Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire. 

Sarah Westwick has her BMus in violin from UBC and has also studied in London England, at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and at the Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Prague. She is a member of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, is a freelance violinist and enjoys playing chamber music. Sarah has teacher training qualifications and experience in both the Suzuki ​violin and viola methods. She is passionate about sharing music by historical and contemporary composers from historically excluded groups.

This event is part of UVic’s annual Five Days of Action: 365 Days of Commitment, taking place from November 14-18, 2022.

This concert is made possible in part by funding from the University of Victoria Alumni Association.