Be inspired by the next generation of musicians as our Art of Piano participants present a series of intimate but energetic performances.  

The two-week Art of Piano residency invites advanced pianists to study with world-class faculty, engage with their peers, and practice in the inspiring setting of Banff Centre, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

Participants explore the connection between artistic vision and craft, hone the ability to listen, and delve into masterworks from diverse eras and genres.  

This two-and-a-half-hour performance consists of five mini-recitals. It marks the culmination of the participants’ time here. 

Be inspired by the next generation of musicians as our Art of Piano participants present a series of intimate but energetic performances.  

The two-week Art of Piano residency invites advanced pianists to study with world-class faculty, engage with their peers, and practice in the inspiring setting of Banff Centre, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the Canadian Rockies.

Participants explore the connection between artistic vision and craft, hone the ability to listen, and delve into masterworks from diverse eras and genres.  

This two-and-a-half-hour performance consists of five mini-recitals. It marks the culmination of the participants’ time here. 

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.

Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund. 

Join two-time JUNO Award-winning Oji-Cree artist Aysanabee (Ace-in-abbey) on the western Canadian run of his first-ever headlining tour, The Way We’re Born Tour, supporting the upcoming June 20, 2025 release of his sophomore album Edge Of The Earth. Following two incredible Canadian support tours with Allison Russell and Dan Mangan, this spring’s Eastern Canadian tour, as well as countless global festival appearances, it is now time for Aysanabee to take center stage and share his powerful music—including the radio hit singles Nomads, We Were Here, Somebody Else, and his newest radio charting single Edge Of The Earth —along with his engaging storytelling.

The alternative indie artist, of Sucker Clan from the Sandy Lake First Nation, a remote fly-in community in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, now calls Toronto home. He began making music under his mother’s maiden name when moments of stillness allowed him to slow down and create music that truly represented him as an artist. He’s been compared to Hozier and Kings of Leon, among others.

In March 2024, Aysanabee made history as the first Indigenous artist to win the JUNO Awards for Alternative Album of the Year and the coveted Songwriter of the Year for his EP Here and Now. His debut album, Watin (Nov 2022), named after his grandfather, combined music and journalism with artistry and expression and was shortlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.

Since 2021, he has performed over 300 shows across Canada and globally, including tours abroad with Kim Churchill (AUS) and Skye Wallace (IT), and international festivals Reeperbahn (DE), The Great Escape (UK), SXSW Sydney (AUS), Tallinn Music Week (ES), and AmericanaFestUK (GB).

Learn more about Aysanbee.

“Aysanabee is a big presence even alone on stage…and the adoring crowd makes it clear it will follow him back after he departs to thunderous cheers.” — NEXT Magazine

“Aysanabee offered stories behind the selections of his heartfelt tales to the point where the audience didn't want him to leave the stage.” — Toronto Star

"Can’t miss concert!" - Exclaim

"Special show coming to town that alternative, indie and folk music lovers won’t want to miss" - Guelph Mercury Tribune

“His guitar work was ridiculously brilliant. If you ever get a chance to see him, please do.” - Montreal Rocks

“Aysanabee’s voice is deep and molasses-rich; it fills a room and hits like a 20-foot wave. But it’s his ability to write songs that lodge in the heart that sets him apart.” - The Coast

Witness one of Canada’s most powerful voices live on stage!

Join us for an unforgettable evening at Banff Centre with Juno Award-winning Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday! With soaring vocals and rich melodies, Gilday is a musical force who blends folk, roots, and Indigenous musical traditions into a stirring and contemporary sound – inviting listeners on a journey of resilience, identity, and connection.

Leela Gilday’s concerts are more than just performances—they're uplifting and transformative experiences filled with spirit, strength, and deep emotion. Her powerful voice and personal songs resonate with audiences across Canada and beyond. Hailing from the Northwest Territories, she draws inspiration from the land and her people, crafting music that is both profoundly moving and deeply relatable.

“Gilday's voice is like a fire lighting the way, illuminating the dark, calling us closer.” — CBC 

Don’t miss one of the world’s most innovative pianists as she takes centre stage.  

Joanna MacGregor is a celebrated performer, composer, conductor, and educator whose versatility has captivated audiences in over 80 countries. Returning after a celebrated performance in Art of Piano in the 2024 Festival, MacGregor is back to showcase her ability to pivot from classical masterpieces to the world of jazz and beyond.

MacGregor has released over 40 solo recordings, ranging from Chopin and Piazzolla to Bach and John Cage. Her collaborative and compositional projects encompass jazz, film, visual art, contemporary dance, and electronica, including music for 47 silent Sherlock Holmes films with the BFI.

She’s also an accomplished educator. As Dame Myra Hess Chair of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and Professor of University of London, she’s head of an international piano department of young pianists from all over the world, many of whom have gone on to great success in the Van Cliburn, Leeds, and Sydney international piano competitions. We’re lucky to have her on faculty for Art of Piano, a program that pushes the instrument to new heights in skill, expression, and composition.

“MacGregor’s verve, energy, and astounding technique are always at the service of the music and never vice-versa. Her ability to inhabit so many sound worlds with the same intensity and commitment is profoundly impressive… An essential listen.” — BBC Classical Review

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.

Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund. 

Join James Anagnoson and Micah Yui for an evening of music for two pianos, featuring works by Brahms, Dvořák, Debussy, and Gershwin.

James Anagnoson is one of Canada’s most celebrated pianists and the Dean of The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School. As half of the internationally acclaimed duo Anagnoson & Kinton, he has performed over 1,500 concerts worldwide, earning praise from The New York Times for their “formidable precision and panache.” He has also taught and mentored generations of prize-winning pianists, shaping Canada’s classical music landscape for decades.

Yui, meanwhile, is an acclaimed Canadian pianist, whose playing contains "blazing enthusiasm, power, and technical assurance” (Los Angeles Times). She’s played solo recitals around the world, including at venues in Zurich, Tokyo, New York, Toronto, and Copenhagen. She’s also given radio performances on CBC, NHK, and WQXR, plus orchestral performances with the Syracuse, Edmonton, Victoria, Montreal Metropolitan, Asheville, and Baltimore Chamber orchestras.

Both are part of the faculty for Art of Piano, a program that pushes the instrument to new heights in skill, expression, and composition.

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.

Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund. 

Program:

Johannes Brahms
Sonata for Two Pianos in F minor, Op. 34b
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante, un poco Adagio
III. Scherzo – Allegro
IV. Finale – Poco sostenuto – Allegro non troppo – Presto, non troppo

Antonín Dvořák
Slavonic Dances
Op. 72, No. 10
Op. 46, No. 8

Claude Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
(Two piano version by the composer)

George Gershwin
Excerpt from Rhapsody in Blue (for Two Pianos)

A pair of exceptional pianists unite for an unforgettable evening of piano. Masterful performers from the Juilliard School, Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone showcase their technical prowess via selections from Mozart and Debussy, including music for two pianos. The married couple often teaches together and has performed as a duo worldwide.  

Chen was born in Taipei and raised in Germany. The winner of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Grant, he has collaborated with conductors like Christoph Eschenbach and Hans Graf. His colleagues include the Tokyo and Shanghai string quartets and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.  

Blackstone’s rich and varied life in music has grown out of her impressive career as a pianist. Her influential work involves the advocacy of music as a force for personal and societal wellbeing, and the passing on of great music to new generations.

Both are part of the faculty for Art of Piano, a program that pushes the instrument to new heights in skill, expression, and composition.

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.

Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund. 

Hosted by Kyo Maclear

Join us for an engaging evening of storytelling at Literary Cabaret, part of the Literary Journalism residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore captivating readings from participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Kyo Maclear, an essayist, novelist, and children’s author. Her nonfiction books include the hybrid memoir Birds Art Life (2017)—a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction and winner of the Trillium Book Award—and Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets (2023), winner of the Governor General’s Award for nonfiction. Her work has appeared in Orion Magazine, Brick, Border Crossings, The Millions, LitHub, The Volta, Prefix Photo, Resilience, The Guardian, Lion’s Roar, Azure, The Globe and Mail, and elsewhere.

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of literary journalism. 

Hosted by Taras Grescoe

Join us for an engaging evening of storytelling at Literary Cabaret, part of the Literary Journalism residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore captivating readings from participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Taras Grescoe, the award-winning author of eight nonfiction books (among them the bestselling Bottomfeeder, Shanghai Grand, and Straphanger). As a journalist, Grescoe’s features have appeared in The Walrus, Saturday Night, The Globe and Mail, L’actualité, Canadian Geographic, Maclean’s, The National Post, and The Ottawa Citizen, and been published around the world in The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Atlantic (among many others).

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of literary journalism.

Hosted by Sarah Berman

Join us for an engaging evening of storytelling at Literary Cabaret, part of the Literary Journalism residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore captivating readings from participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Sarah Berman, a journalist covering culture, politics, and justice. Berman’s first book, Don’t Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM, was shortlisted for a Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and a Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence. She is a former senior editor at VICE and past contributor to Reuters, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and many more publications.

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of literary journalism