Scottish pianist Murray McLachlan will be Artist-in-Residence at Queen's from February 26 - March 2. 

When he arrives on campus for his stint as the Queen’s School of Music’s Artist-in-Residence, pianist Murray McLachlan hopes to introduce the community to some of his country’s most interesting contemporary classical music. At least two events over the course of his packed sojourn will feature the music of Ronald Stevenson, a composer Dr. McLachlan has championed as a performer and teacher.

“I’ll be performing Stevenson’s Passacaglia on DSCH, which is the longest single piano piece without a break,” says Dr. McLachlan, explaining that the piece runs about 85 minutes. “I remember first hearing it when I was 14 and thinking ‘I have to play this.’ “It’s like Bach’s Goldberg Variations for the 20th century.”

Dr. McLachlan, who is based in Manchester, England, is chair of the European Piano Teachers’ Association (EPTA) UK, head of keyboard at Chetham’s School of Music and senior tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music. He is also the founder/artistic director of Chetham’s International Summer School and Festival for Pianists. He has made over 40 commercial recordings of everything from Beethoven and Prokofiev to the major works for Kabalevsky, Khatchaturian and the complete solo piano music of Erik Chisholm.

“I think it’s important for students to have exposure to world-class people and to hear things they haven’t heard before,” says Ireneus Zuk, a professor in the School of Music who made the arrangements to bring Dr. McLachlan to Canada for the first time. “It’s a superb advantage for the university and the Kingston community.”

While at Queen’s, Dr. McLachlan will give three public performances and a talk about piano music from Scotland. He will also hold a master class for piano students, as well as private consultations. “It’s inspiring to work with younger musicians,” he says. “After all, teaching is not a one-way process. The best way to keep learning is to work with other people.”

For more information contact the School of Music at 613-533-2066, or visit their events page.