“You have magic in your fingers and in your heart.” – Dr. Christine Vanderkooy, (DMA, McGill University)
Fourteen year old Tristan Teo started piano lessons at age six with Aline Banno and is now under the direction of Dr. Sasha Starcevich. Over the past couple of years, Tristan has built an international reputation of excellence in performance, with “superb pianism” and a singular ability to communicate with his audience.
A native of Canada, Tristan has been awarded top prizes in several international piano competitions. At the age of 11, he won 1st place in both the Solo and Concerto Pre-college Divisions of the 2009 Kingsville International Isabel Scionti Piano Competitions in Texas and became the youngest contestant ever to achieve that honour. He was also the youngest and only Canadian prizewinner at the 2010 Cooper Piano Competition in Oberlin. In January 2011, he was awarded 1st prize and the Gold Medal at the 5th Bösendorfer and Schimmel USASU International Piano Junior Competition in Arizona as well as the Senderov Award for the most outstanding performance of a composition by a Russian composer. In July 2011, Tristan received 2nd prize at the e-Piano Junior Competition, rising to the top of a field of the 25 most talented young pianists in the world today. A special accomplishment this year: Tristan’s 1st prize wins in both the Solo and Concerto Competitions of the 2011 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition in California.
Since his orchestral debut at age 10, Tristan has performed with numerous orchestras including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the Orpheum, the Waring Festival Orchestra under conductor Lucille Carver at the McCallum Theatre in California, and the Minnesota Orchestra at Orchestra Hall under the baton of Mark Russell Smith.
This May, he was invited to perform a solo recital at the prestigious Salle Cortot in Paris and has future engagements to perform in Italy, Germany, and the US. This summer Tristan will be performing his acclaimed solo version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at the Amphiteatro Romana in Castiglione del Lago. His next international engagement in December 2011 features a solo recital in Florida as well as a performance with the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra with conductor Dr. Andrew Kurtz. Tristan also performs frequently in the Vancouver area, and presents annual benefit concerts for various local charities.
In his spare time, Tristan enjoys reading, building LEGO, and travelling. Currently a Grade 11 student, he will graduate from high school 2 years early and looks forward to continuing his musical education while preparing for a career in piano performance. Tristan is a committed musician and hopes to share his love of classical music with the next generation of audiences. Tristan currently studies at the Juilliard School of Music.
RUFUS LIN MUSIC
Canadian Jazz Pianist and Classical composer active in Vancouver/Tokyo
Rufus Lin is a Canadian jazz performer and recording artist, as well as a classical composer, based in Vancouver and Tokyo. For over ten years, he has given jazz concerts once every two months in Tokyo–in recent years, these have been on a Fazioli grand piano at Shibuya Hall. He currently performs jazz piano live every weekday on streaming platforms such as Clubhouse and Instagram Live.Rufus Lin has released several albums and singles, both as CDs and on streaming platforms such as “Amazon Music, “”Apple Music” and “Spotify”. These albums vary in genre, including healing piano, contemporary classical and jazz standards. As a composer of classical music, he has published a variety of pieces for orchestras, choirs, ensembles and solo instruments. Some of these pieces have been performed in Japan and South Korea.
