ASL 2012: Pianist, Rachel Iwaasa

Hailed in the press as a "keyboard virtuoso" (Georgia Straight) with the “emotional intensity” to take a piece “from notes on a page to a stunning work of art” (Victoria Times Colonist), pianist Rachel Kiyo Iwaasa has performed as soloist and chamber musician in Canada, the United States and Germany. Known for bold and innovative concerts, Rachel combines her warmth and curiosity to touch the hearts and minds of audiences, whether she is playing Beethoven and Schumann or Ligeti and Saariaho. Rachel has appeared for Music TORONTO, Vancouver New Music, CONTACT contemporary music (Toronto), New Works Calgary, Groundswell New Music (Winnipeg), the Victoria Symphony, the Aventa Ensemble (Victoria), Music on Main, Redshift, the Western Front, and Vancouver Pro Musica. Rachel’s debut solo CD,Cosmophony, nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award, has been praised for “great mastery” (Whole Note); and for “the passion, intensity and the nuanced playing she's acclaimed for … she manages to instill a sense of dynamic tension and pull to every note” (The Province). Visit her online at Iwaasa.com.