Aitken in Italy Biographies

-
Stacks Image 10
ROBERT AITKEN (CANADA) FLUTE
World renowned Canadian flutist, composer and conductor Robert Aitken has been honoured with the Order of Canada and is a Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France). In 1970, having previously served as principal flute for both the Vancouver and Toronto Symphony Orchestras, Aitken embarked on a solo career that has taken him to virtually every corner of the globe. He has more than 70 recordings to his credit and such notables as John Cage, George Crumb, Elliott Carter, Toru Takemitsu, Gilles Tremblay, John Beckwith and Bruce Mather have dedicated works to him. In 2003 he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association (USA). In 2004, he retired as Professor für Flöte at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg, Germany, a position he had held for 16 years. In 2009 Aitken was the recipient Canada’s largest arts award, the prestigious Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts. As a composer, he holds Bachelor and Masters degrees from the University of Toronto and all of his works are published by Universal Edition, Salabert, Ricordi and Peer Music. Robert Aitken was director of the Banff Centre Winter Program in Music, founder and artistic director of Music Today, Music at Shawnigan and co-founder, with Norma Beecroft, of New Music Concerts which he has directed since its inception in 1971. Photograph: Robert Aitken and Jan Junker
-
Stacks Image 18
JAN JUNKER (NORWAY) PICCOLO
Born in Boden,Sweden, Junker studied flute as a child in his hometown Sandefjord,Norway and at the Conservatory of Music in Oslo with Professor Torkil Bye and at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Freiburg,Germany with Professor Robert Aitken. Junker further his flute studies with Trevor Wye , Ørnulf Gulbransen, Raymond Guiot and Louis Moyse. A flutist at the Norwegian Opera Oslo where Junker had the opportunity to perform with distinguished conductors such as Antonio Pappano and Myung-Whun Chung as well as singers like Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo. Since 1999 Junker has performed,toured and recorded extensively with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. Junker has appeared as a guest flutist with the orchestras in Ulm, Bremen, Hamburg, Rostock, Wiesbaden, Oviedo, Norwegian Broadcasting Orchestra and Kammerorchester Basel.

With a repertoire of over 40 concertos including Vivaldi ,C.P.E.Bach, J.S.Bach,Mozart, Pergolesi, Albinoni, Tartini, Leclair, Telemann, Quantz, Blavet etc. Junker has toured on all five continents as a flute and piccolo soloist with the Heidelberger Kammerorchester. Since 1998 he has also performed as soloist with Globart Ensemble and since 2001 Camerata Vivaldi. In August 2003, Junker performed two concerts at the National Flute Association's Convention in Las Vegas. In the same year, Junker became a flutist with the Dresdner Sinfoniker. Recently, Junker accepted the title of Principal Consultant for flute & piccolo programmes at the Hong Kong Flute Centre. Mr. Junker is featured as soloist on 7 CDs with Bayer Records.
-
Stacks Image 26
MARC WIDNER (CANADA) PIANO
Marc Widner has several decades of experience as a performer, as soloist and chamber musician, with numerous radio broadcasts and recordings to his credit. In May, 1998, he was soloist in the first canadian performances of the Concertos of Laszlo Weiner and Erwin Schulhoff at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto. In 1999, he performed Beethoven's Emperor Concerto in a concert marking the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra. More recently, he has performed in several summer music festivals with violinist Moshe Hammer and Oleg Pokhanovski, and appeared as soloist with the Huronia Symphony Orchestra.

Marc Widner has developed a strong presence in the twin fields of piano teaching and pedagogy. Over the past few years, he has presented lectures and workshops across Canada, and, in 1994, in several cities in Texas. In 1996, he gave the opening address at the National Piano Pedagogy Conference in Chicago; thereafter, he spoke at the meeting of the German section of the European Piano Teachers' Association in Darmstadt. In the fall of 1998, he presented a recital along with workshops and master classes in Seoul, South Korea, at the invitation of Royal Conservatory of Music Examinations of Korea.
-