yvonne, the pianist

piano soloist and chamber player

Yvonne began playing the piano at an early age completing her Royal Conservatory of Music training prior to attending the University of Alberta where she studied with Dr. Lejano.  Following her piano studies she performed as a soloist and accompanist for many years.  While pursuing composition at the University of British Columbia, she continued to be active as a pianist and premiered many new works by emerging composers, several of which were recorded on CD.  


When Yvonne returned to Vancouver Island after her composition and theoretical studies, she became involved with the Cowichan Consort and Choir as both accompanist and soloist.  Recently she performed Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with this ensemble, conducted by Maestro Robert Mari.  


Yvonne is a member of the KeyWinds Quintet (Piano, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and French Horn) and they recently recorded Mozart's Piano Quintet in E Flat Major, K. 452.  She also performs with the KeyWinds Trio (Piano, Clarinet, and French Horn) playing works by Reinecke, Kahn, and Tovey.  Visit the KeyWinds Quintet website to hear an exerpt from this recording.

Yvonne has spent a large portion of her career performing with operatic soloists, choirs, and instrumentalists across Canada.  She has a keen ear, perfect pitch, and sense of timing that allows her to perfectly mold her accompaniments to the musical needs of the soloists.  Over the years, she has been thrilled to have performed with many amazing musicians and currently performs with tenor, Ted Rhodes on Vancouver Island.  


As an accompanist for many years for the Cowichan Consort Choir and Encore! Women's Choir, Yvonne has helped choir's prepare and perform a large variety of choral works.  Yvonne is the orchestral pianist with the Cowichan Consort and she has performed as harpsichordist for numerous performances of Handel's Messiah.  


Yvonne lives with her husband in the small town of Cobble Hill on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

accompanist

musical director and pit musician

One of Yvonne's favourite musical activities is performing in the pit for musical productions.  She has performed for many musicals for the Cowichan Musical Society including Anne of Green Gables, Oliver, and Anything Goes.  She was thrilled to be musical director for the Cowichan Musical Society's production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and she conducted from the keyboard an ensemble of eight.


Brentwood College has also hired Yvonne as keyboardist for many of their musicals and she was especially delighted to perform as pianist in their recent production of Leonard Bernstein's challenging musical, West Side Story.