General Comments on Piano Activities:
While John Burge does spend a great deal of his professional time composing, teaching and adjudicating, he still endeavours to find time to practice the piano and schedule the occasional piano performance. It is somehow engrained in his musical DNA that to be a musician means being able to perform, but equally, the time spent playing the piano is an opportunity to meet some of the world's best composers on a daily basis in the quiet space of his music room. As well, John Burge always tries to work out all the kinks of his own piano compositions himself before releasing the notes to the public.
In the past, these performances were most often of a collaboration with another musician or musical group sometimes involving the performance or premiere of some of his own music. He recalls fondly a concert with flautist, Leslie Newman, which included the premiere of his Sonata Breve No. 3 and the many years of accompanying for the Canta Arya School for Strings in Kingston. Recently though, John Burge has devoted his piano performances exclusively to solo presentations of his own music and usually has a full recital of music within his fingers. Drawing upon his experience as a professor, he greatly enjoys structuring these performances as more of a lecture demonstration, especially in a university or educational setting. Beginning in 2012, John Burge began composing his own set of 24 Preludes in all major and minor keys. Many of these preludes were played in small groups to gauge their effectiveness and the complete set was finally completed early in 2015. Taking approximately one hour to play, these preludes can easily occupy a large portion of a concert or an entire lecture.
Recent Piano Performances:
October 15, 2017: Performed all of Burge's Twenty-four Preludes for Solo Piano (2015), Oscillations (2015) and Everything Waits For The Lilacs (1996) at BC Branch of the Canadian Music Centre, Vancouver, BC.
August 26, 2017: Performed all of Burge's Twenty-four Preludes for Solo Piano (2015) at the Royal Conservatory of Music Summer Summit, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB in a lecture/demonstration format.
Feb. 12, 2017: Performed all of Burge's Twenty-four Preludes for Solo Piano (2015) at the University of Ottawa, School of Music, Perez Hall, Ottawa, ON in a lecture/demonstration format.
Jan. 31, 2017: Performed twenty of Burge's Twenty-four Preludes for Solo Piano (2015)as part of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music New Music Festival, Walter Hall, Toronto, ON.
August 11, 2016: Performed "Preludes 1-12" from Burge's Twenty-four Preludes for Solo Piano (2015) and Oscillations (2015), at a lunchtime concert at St. George's Cathedral, Kingston, ON.
Jan. 9, 2015: New Music Kingston: Performance of 20 of Burge's Twenty-four Preludes for Solo Piano at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, Kingston, ON.
July 28, 2013: Mini Solo Piano Recital Recital for the Summer Sizzle Piano Camp and Conference of music composed by John Burge, Mount Forest, ON
July 7, 2011: Invited Canadian pianist and composer clinician to the Canadian Federation of Music Teacher’s Associations National Conference for their Canada Music Day in Regina, SK, including a concert presentation of Studies in Poetry Nos. 1-6 and during the special evening performance of Canadian music performed Everything Waits For The Lilacs (1996) and Study In Poetry No. 8, Anthem (2011).
June 30, 2011: Solo piano lunch-time concert at St. George’s Cathedral, Kingston, ON, consisting exclusively of piano music composed by John Burge: Everything Waits For The Lilacs (1996), Studies In Poetry Nos. 7-9 (2011).
Mar. 5, 2011: Accompanied Elizabeth MacDonald, soprano, on a Queen’s University, School of Music Faculty Artists Series Recital, Chalmers United Church, Kingston, ON.
Oct 17, 2010: Accompanied Carolynne Godin, soprano, FRC Clarke Memorial Concert, Sydenham United Church, Kingston, ON.
July 22, 2010: Accompanied Christine Choi, violin, St. George’s Cathedral lunch-time concert, Kingston, ON.
Jan. 22, 2010: “Studies in Poetry—Lecture/Piano Performance of Piano Etudes Composed by John Burge”, School of Music Colloquium, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON.
March 12, 2010: “Studies in Poetry—Lecture/Piano Performance of Piano Etudes Composed by John Burge”, Faculty of Music, University of Ottawa, ON.
June 5, 2010: “Studies in Poetry—Lecture/Piano Performance of Piano Etudes Composed by John Burge”, Canadian University Music Society Conference, Regina, SK
October 26, 2010: “Studies in Poetry—Lecture/Piano Performance of Piano Etudes Composed by John Burge”, Composition Student Seminar, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.