Long Bio

Godwin Friesen is a pianist and composer from the Canadian Prairies, exuberantly discovering where a life in music can take him. Winning the nationwide Concours OSM in 2022 has led to several collaborations with the leading orchestra of his current hometown of Montréal. Meanwhile, first prize and audience prize in the 2023 Trondheim International Competition with the Rilian Trio (Daniel Dastoor, violin, and David Liam Roberts, cello) have opened doors to professional trio engagements in Europe and across Canada. 

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Godwin grew up performing frequently not as a pianist, but as a member of the Friesen Family Band, singing and playing various instruments in styles ranging from folk to church-music to jazz. Through many dozens of concerts, three album recordings and several Canadian tours with his parents and five siblings, he developed instincts for ensemble playing and improvisation. Later as a teenager, diving into the trio repertoire with his siblings, he discovered an affinity for chamber music. 

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Composing has become another important part of Godwin’s musical life thanks to an early piano teacher, Sheila Wright, who taught all of her students to compose. Today, his solo and ensemble concerts regularly include one of his new works, especially Psalm 131 for Piano Trio or When Brothers Dwell Together for piano and cello. Godwin’s composing experience surely played a role in winning best interpretation of the imposed contemporary work both in the Concours OSM and the Trondheim Competition.

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After five formative years studying with pianist Bonnie Nicholson in Saskatoon until the end of high school, Godwin earned a bachelor’s degree and an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, studying with John O’Conor. Highlights from those years include winning the school’s concerto competition and conducting a Mozart concerto from the piano. Next, he completed a master’s degree in 2024 at l’Université de Montréal with Henry Kramer and Jean Saulnier. 

 

Since then, Godwin has devoted himself to performing and composing. This season includes over thirty duo performances across Canada with cellist David Liam Roberts, thanks to the touring organization Prairie Debut, as well as his first performances of the complete Goldberg Variations.

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January 2025