Montréal based pianist David Potvin is quickly establishing himself as one of Canada’s most exciting performers of contemporary repertoire. As winner of of the 2022 Eckhardt-Gramatté competition, he will be touring across Canada in the fall of 2022 with a program of all Canadian contemporary repertoire.
The fall of 2022 will also see the release of the album “Breathe In, Breathe Out,” featuring music by composer Edward Enman, where David appears in performance of the composer’s four hand piano music.
David is a versatile performer with an interest in a wide range of repertoire. Among his numerous performance prizes include the third prize at the 2018 Shean Piano Competition and a finalist prize in the 2017 Stepping Stone competition. Recent concert highlights include a recital with violinist Martin Beaver that included the world premiere of Stewart Grant’s Violin Sonata, a recital that David organized in collaboration with the Canadian Music Centre celebrating the works of Quebec composer Jacques Hétu, and two recitals of Beethoven piano sonatas as part of the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance’s Beethoven 250 celebration. He has also performed for the Arts & Letters Club of Toronto, Acadia University’s “Sunday Music in the Garden Room” series, the Nine Sparrows Arts Foundation noon recital series, Toronto Public Library’s Orchardviewers Club, St. Andrew’s United Church’s Music and Life Series, Islington United Church’s Sundays @ 3, the Bathurst Chamber Music Festival and Scotia Festival of Music. Elsewhere, David has performed in festivals in Vermont, Southern France, Romania and London, England. Overseas appearances were supported by the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.
A music scholar as well as a performer, David received his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Toronto in fall of 2020. There, he studied with acclaimed pedagogue Marietta Orlov and won the DMA recital competition. His thesis reflected his keen interest in French music and was on the subject of Ricardo Viñes, who premiered many solo piano works by Ravel and Debussy. David’s dissertation brought new information about this celebrated musician into English scholarship. David also presented a paper entitled “Poissons d’or: a comparative source analysis” at Claude Debussy in 2018: A Centenary Celebration, an international conference in Glasgow. Other scholarly presentations include a lecture recital about the music of Claude Debussy for the Acadia University School of Music, and a talk entitled “Form as Dialogue in Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 15 no. 3,” at a U of T graduate student music conference.
David completed his Bachelor of Music in piano performance at Acadia University, where he studied with Ronald Tomarelli. During his time at Acadia, David was twice selected to perform at the Tom Reagan Memorial Concert, an annual showcase of faculty and select students, and was the accompanist for the Acadia University Chorus directed by Michael Caines. At Acadia, David was supported by the Minnie A. Poole scholarship in music. David also holds an ARCT in piano performance from the Royal Conservatory of Music. During his studies towards this diploma he won the silver medal for the highest exam mark in his region twice. David has performed in masterclasses for eminent pedagogues including Martha Argerich, André Laplante, Janina Fialkowska, James Anagnason, and John Perry.
Equally passionate about music education, David maintains a private piano studio where he teaches students of all ages in both of Canada’s official languages. He is a member of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s prestigious College of Examiners, and he has adjudicated for festivals and competitions, such as the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association and the École de musique Vincent-d’Indy. He is a member of the Quebec Registered Music Teachers Association, and is a professeur affilié at the École de musique Vincent-d’Indy.
David is currently researching Léo-Pol Morin – a Quebec pianist and critic who was instrumental in bringing the avant-garde musical movement to Canada – with the aim of recording his compositions and the music of his contemporaries.
In his spare time, David enjoys watching soccer, cooking, exploring Montréal, and trying to keep up with his newborn son.