A24 ™ FRIDAY, January 24, 2014
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HE’S A VIRTUAL
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Eighteen-year-old Jan Lisiecki is a renowned pianist and student of Thompson River University’s Open Learning program. Says Lisiecki of taking courses through the facility: “This is a tremendous help and enables me to study with the best music teachers I’d like and in the environment I prefer. It works in the best possible way for me.� Lisiecki will perform in Kelowna on Feb. 15 and in Vernon on Feb. 16. For more information on the concerts, go online to okanagansymphony.com. 730 Cottonwood Avenue Phone: 250-376-4777 Email: nscc@shaw.ca
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By Dale Bass STAFF REPORTER
dale@kamloopsthisweek.com
In 2005, Thompson Rivers University took a big leap into the virtual world when its Open Learning began operations. It was the culmination of a lot of partnerships and planning that saw all the distance education that had
been provided by the Open Learning Agency move to the new university. Since then, thousands of students, most of whom have never set foot in Kamloops, have taken courses and finished degrees through the many programs offered. One of those students is 18-year-old Jan Lisiecki, a pianist just coming off several performances in Europe and the U.S. before starting out on another trek that includes Kingston, Italy, Kelowna and Vernon — all within a two-week period. When he’s not performing works by Shubert, Schumann, Chopin, Beethoven and the like, Lisiecki is a student at the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto. That institution, however, can’t offer him all the courses he needs. “The only way to get a degree is to complete them through TRU,� Lisiecki said. “This is a tremendous help and enables me to study with the best music teachers I’d like and in the environment I prefer. “It works in the best possible way for me.� It has freed him up to win the Young Artist of the Year trophy at last year’s Gramophone Classical Music Awards, best described
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nine, four years after he started his piano studies — is “hard to put into a few words. “I definitely have a fantastic life and I truly love what I do,� he said. Lisiecki’s gifts aren’t restricted to the black and white keys, however. While in school, he was accelerated through four grades, graduating from his Calgary high school at 16. The year before, he was signed to a record deal and debuted with his interpretation of two of Mozart’s piano concertos. A release was issued in early 2012, an album recorded with the Bavarian Radio
as equivalent to the Grammys or Junos for those who are more likely to have a bust of Beethoven, rather than a KISS bobble doll, on their desk. He has won several other awards and has been praised in many publications, including the New York Times, which called the teen “a pianist who makes every note count.� Britain’s Guardian called him “an artist of remarkable refinement.� Perhaps showing his teenaged viewpoint on the world, Lisiecki said his career — which truly kicked off when the Calgarian started performing with orchestras at the age of
Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor Christian Zacharias and which was nominated for a Juno Award. He is performing on Saturday, Feb. 15, with the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra at the Kelowna Community Theatre. The following day, Lisiecki will be in Vernon at its performing-arts centre. The concert includes The Sparrow’s Ledger by Michael Oesterle, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9, K 271 and the Symphony in C by Bizet. For more information, go online to okanagansymphony.com.
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