| Bio: | A native of Oakville, Ontario, violinist Stephen Sitarski graduated from The Royal Conservatory of Music (A.R.C.T. Diploma) at age 14 and received the University of Toronto Bachelor of Music (Performance) degree just six years later. Mr. Sitarski then earned a Masters in Music degree at the University of New York (Stony Brook) studying with Professor Joyce Robbins. Another important musical influence was Professor Lorand Fenyves, with whom he studied at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Since his solo debut with the Toronto Symphony at age 15, Mr. Sitarski has performed as violin soloist with Canadian orchestras in concertos and concert works by Bach, Beethoven, Corigliano, Haydn, Mozart, Saint-Saens, Tchaikovsky, Wieniawski, Barber, Bartok, Arvo Part, and gave the Canadian premiere of works by Keith Jarrett and Aaron Jay Kernis with the Winnipeg Symphony. In 2000, with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, he presented the world premiere performance (and CBC national radio broadcast) of a violin concerto written especially for him by Glenn Buhr. He performed the Buhr concerto again in 2001 with the Saskatoon Symphony conducted by Earl Stafford, and in 2004 with the Thunder Bay Symphony conducted by Geoffrey Moule. In 2002 Mr. Sitarski was once again heard on CBC Radio performing the Beethoven violin concerto with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. In 2003, he performed the Buhr concerto with the Winnipeg Symphony and conductor Andrey Boreyko as part of the internationally renowned Winnipeg Symphony New Music Festival. This performance was broadcast nationally live-to-air on CBC Radio. Acclaimed Canadian composer Kelly Marie Murphy is writing a concerto for Mr. Sitarski that will be premiered in the 2005-2006 season. Mr. Sitarski is currently the Concertmaster of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony after holding positions as Co-Concertmaster and Associate Concertmaster of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, and Associate Concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. He has led several other orchestras including the International Festival Orchestra of Cadaques (Spain), Orchestra London (Canada) and has been invited by the Oregon Symphony, Edmonton Symphony and the Vancouver Symphony to be guest Concertmaster. The Vancouver Symphony engagement included leading that orchestra in two special concerts involving the great Russian cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich for the only Canadian appearances on his 75th birthday tour schedule. As a chamber musician, Mr. Sitarski is first violinist of the Canadian Chamber Ensemble (which recently released a recording on CBC Records of the Canteloube 'Songs of the Auvergne' with soloist Karina Gauvin), and in the summer he regularly participates in several festivals including the Westben Festival, Festival of the Sound (Parry Sound), the Elora festival, and the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. He is a member of Toronto's Art of Time Ensemble, which performs at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. He has been a guest violinist with the Duke Trio and Caliban Quartet. Other chamber music recordings of Mr. Sitarski's include a Clara Schumann disc with soprano Henriette Schellenberg, pianist Irmgard Baerg, and cellist Bryan Epperson, and the famous Schubert Quintet in C with Andrew Dawes, Guylaine Lemaire, Julian Armour and Elizabeth Dolin. Widely known for his eclectic musical abilities, Mr. Sitarski continues to arrange, compose, perform and record (Hors d'oeuvres and In Perfect Time) as the first violinist of Canada's Emperor Quartet. His recording studio work is extensive with countless jingles and movie scores to his credit, including performing the violin solos on the soundtrack for the film Being Julia starring Annette Bening and Jeremy Irons. He has even played a season of the Tommy Hunter Show! In January 2000, Mr. Sitarski was appointed Interim Artistic Advisor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. In that position (which ended in 2001), as the orchestra was engaged in a search for a principal conductor, Mr. Sitarski was the primary advisor to the general manager on all artistic matters in addition to his full duties as KWS Concertmaster. He continues to lead/conduct and host the popular Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony series Planet Baroque. Mr. Sitarski is acknowledged for his work as an educator by regularly being invited to give master classes at Wilfrid Laurier University, Westben Arts Festival and The Glenn Gould School, where he is now a faculty member. In 2002 in Hamilton, he was the primary string adjudicator for the provincial finals of the Ontario Music Festivals, and frequently serves on adjudication panels for various competitive events. He often adjudicates student recitals at the University of Toronto. This past summer, Mr. Sitarski was a faculty member at the National Youth Orchestra of Canada's training sessions in Victoria, BC, and was immediately reengaged for next summer. In recognition of his tremendous artistic contributions to the Kitchener-Waterloo community, Mr. Sitarski was awarded the Kitchener-Waterloo 2002 Arts Award for Music. |
