Sunday, March 9, 2025, 3:00pm
Darke Hall
Perhaps it is the sense of space, the living skies and the clear view to the edge of the horizon that breeds artistry in those who live in the Canadian West.
As the Prairie Sons, cellist David Liam Roberts and pianist Godwin Friesen embody the expansive, nuanced perspective of their home landscape in their concert program. The two award-winning musicians met at the Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School of Music, and recognized a kindred spirit in each other. Both hail from the Prairies, began performing alongside other members of their families, and have been named to CBC’s list of Hot 30 Classical Musicians Under 30.
The energy and innovation of the Prairie Sons invites you to take a fresh look at a familiar landscape, and to witness the miracle in the everyday.
Winner of the 2021 Michael Measures Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, MétisCanadian cellist David Liam Roberts enjoys an international career as a soloist and chamber musician. Besides being named to CBC’s list of 30 Classical Musicians under 30, David Liam was awarded both the 1st Prize and Grand Award at the 2018 National Music Festival of Canada and won 1st Prize of the 2022 biennial WMC McLellan Competition after performing the Schumann Cello Concerto as soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in the competition’s final round. His Rilian Trio recently won the 1st Prize, Audience Prize and Commission Prize at the 12th Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition in Norway.
The 2024-25 season includes two tours of central Canada with pianist Godwin Friesen (together they are known as Prairie Sons) as Prairie Debut touring artists. The upcoming season also includes appearances at the Copenhagen Summer Festival (Denmark) and Prince Edward County Festival (Ontario), as well as debuts in Calgary (Calgary Pro Musica) and Oslo (Norway) with the Rilian Trio. Recent engagements include debuts in Tromsø, Norway, as well as recitals presented by the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, Music Toronto and the Gallery Chamber Players of Niagara.
David Liam has studied with many of the foremost classical music pedagogues, including Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, Donald Weilerstein and Joel Krosnick, having attended festivals such as the Perlman Music Program, Morningside Music Bridge, and International Music Seminar at Prussia Cove. He has also participated in the Open Chamber Music seminar at Prussia Cove. David Liam holds a Bachelors and Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where he studied with Hans Jørgen Jensen and Andres Díaz. He is currently pursuing a Masters at the Basel Academy of Music in Switzerland, studying with the acclaimed cellist Danjulo Ishizaka.
David Liam plays a cello crafted in Milan by Carlo Antonio Monzino VI in 1928 and a bow by W.E. Hill&Sons, both generously loaned to him by CANIMEX, inc.
davidliamroberts.com
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.
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 churchmusic 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.
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.
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.
godwinfriesen.com
