David Gillham & Ken Gee
75 Cardigan Street, Guelph ON
10am to 5pm, rain or shine. Free Admission.
Described as a “violinist with a lean tone, a supple technique, and an amazing talent for sustaining a long line” (All Music Guide Magazine), Canadian violinist David Gillham is in demand as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher throughout North America and around the world.
Formerly on the faculties of Memorial University and the University of Central Arkansas, Mr. Gillham is currently an assistant professor of violin at the University of British Columbia and a member of the Arianna String Quartet, in residence at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is on the faculty of the FEMUSC Festival in Brazil, the Madeline Island Music Festival, the Illinois Chamber Music Festival and the Britt Festival String Quartet Academy. In addition to his teaching duties at the University of British Columbia, Mr. Gillham has conducted masterclasses at schools such as Arizona State University, the University of Ottawa, Wilfrid Laurier University, Webster University, Augustana College, the Stellenbosch Conservatory in South Africa, and the Wuhan Conservatory in China.
The Arianna String Quartet has appeared throughout North America, Europe and Asia, including critically acclaimed performances at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, and have been heard on live nationally broadcast performances in Osaka, Japan, on Canada’s CBC radio, several times as part of Chicago’s prestigious Dame Myra Hess Series, and on National Public Radio’s “Performance Today” program. In 2007, the quartet received the “outstanding musical achievement award” from the St. Louis Post Dispatch for their performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven quartets.
Mr. Gillham is a founding member of the Ridge Piano Trio and the violin and piano duo ‘Gillham-Iinuma’. Appointed Duo in Residence at the University of Central Arkansas in 2003, the duo has given recitals across three continents. Recent Highlights include performances in Tokyo, at the Opera City and Bunka Kaiken Recital Halls, a recital tour of China, and performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and piano. The duo’s critically acclaimed debut recording of the Grieg Sonatas for Centaur records has been described as “Stellar” and “a must Purchase” (CD Hotlist). Their concerts have been broadcast on the CBC and NPR radio networks.
Equally at home on stage as a soloist with orchestra, Mr. Gillham has performed with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, the Gateway Festival Orchestra of St. Louis, The Camerata Stuttgart, The Guelph Symphony Orchestra and the Grand Forks Symphony.
A former student of David Zafer, Gwen Hoebig, Francis Chaplin, Moshe Hammer and Daphne Hughes, Mr. Gillham received his bachelor of music degree from the University of Manitoba where he was a student of David Stewart. Further Studies at Indiana University with Franco Gulli, and at the Peabody Conservatory with Martin Beaver, culminated in a performers diploma and masters degree.
Mr. Gillham received the 2006 Missouri Chapter of the American String Teachers Association’s Distinguished Service award. In 2002, he was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in honor of his contributions to the arts in Canada. Mr. Gillham performs on a Carlo Tononi violin made in 1725, Venice.
Pianist Ken Gee created Guelph Musicfest in 2007 and has been organizing every year since. Ken is an experienced recitalist, concerto soloist, accompanist, and chamber music player. He has a Music B.A. from McMaster University, where he was awarded the McMaster Medal for the Creative and Performing Arts. His principal piano teachers were Reginald Bedford and Boris Berlin. Ken was music critic for the Hamilton Spectator, manager for chamber music series and Ensemble Sir Ernest MacMillan, co-director of the Hamilton Kiwanis Music Festival, and a teacher at McMaster University, Sheridan College and Mohawk College. Ken’s other life is in Macintosh-based design work and music production. He developed classical piano music software for PG Music Inc., Victoria, and makes music and music text books for Frederick Harris Music Ltd. and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
He is the pianist for Guelph Youth Singers, Suzuki String School of Guelph, and Suzuki summer Institutes in Waterloo and Montreal, and has also been a piano adjudicator, private teacher and chamber music coach. He is also chair of the Guelph Youth Music Centre where he led the creation of the Guelph Youth Symphony Orchestra. In 2008, he was the recipient of a City of Guelph Mayor’s Award. Ken lives in Guelph with his violinist wife, Paule Barsalou (director of the Suzuki String School of Guelph).
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