The Royal Conservatory Appoints Pianist Stewart Goodyear As Inaugural Artist In Residence

The Royal Conservatory of Music has appointed internationally acclaimed pianist, composer, and RCM alumnus, Stewart Goodyear to a three-year term as its inaugural Artist in Residence.

"The search for the right person who could satisfy all aspects of the multi-faceted role of Artist in Residence was not an easy one," said Dr. Peter Simon, President & CEO of The Royal Conservatory. "Stewart is not only an acclaimed performer and composer - he is also a gifted communicator and teacher with keen insights into music. As an alumnus of the RCM, he also understands our uncompromising pursuit of excellence. I could not be prouder that Stewart has come home."

"The Royal Conservatory plays such an important role in this country, not just in the lives of people who will make a career in music, but also in helping people to do whatever they're going to do in their life," said Stewart Goodyear, who started studying at the Conservatory at the age of six. "The Royal Conservatory is not only an important part of Canada, but also an important part of the music world, and the world in general. To be asked by Dr. Simon to take on such an important position is flattering, and something that I take very seriously."

The Artist in Residence role will be integrated into all aspects of The Royal Conservatory's efforts and mission to develop human potential. In addition to annual performances at the Conservatory's acclaimed Koerner Hall, Mr. Goodyear will conduct masterclasses at the RCM's professional training schools - The Glenn Gould School and The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists - and will deliver content for the RCM Certificate Program. He will also be involved with the Oscar Peterson Program at the newly renamed Oscar Peterson School of Music (formerly the Royal Conservatory School), a scholarship program offering tuition-free music instruction to underserved youth, beginning in the fall of 2022.

Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished pianist, improviser, and composer. Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times and "one of the best pianists of his generation" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Mr. Goodyear has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world. His discography includes the complete sonatas and piano concertos of Beethoven, as well as concertos by Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Rachmaninov, an album of Ravel piano works, and an album, entitled "For Glenn Gould" - another RCM alumnus. In 2020, Orchid Classics released his piano sonata and composition for piano and orchestra, "Callaloo". He recently released "Phoenix" which includes two original compositions and on November 27, he will perform the world premiere of his new work, Piano Quintet, in Koerner Hall along with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, op. 125 (trans. Franz Liszt, S. 464/9), for solo piano, choir, and singers.

ABOUT: The Royal Conservatory of Music is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world, providing the definitive standard of excellence in curriculum design, assessment, performance training, teacher certification, and arts-based social programs.

Learn more at rcmusic.com