Powell River Academy of Music
 

Moira Hopfe-Ostensen, piano & Walter Martella, piano

…welcoming Academy faculty alumni back to Powell River, Dr. Hopfe-Ostensen will perform with Walter Martella, Academy Music Director and jazz performer, in a double piano concert.

Thursday, January 18, 2018 | 7:30 PM | James Hall

Admission $22 - Students 18 & under free with student ticket voucher

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Tickets are available:

• at the Academy Box Office – 7280 Kemano Street, Monday – Thursday 9:30 - 4:30
• by phone at 604 485 9633
• and at the door 30 minutes before the concert

Moira Hopfe-OstensenPraised for her expressive playing and engaged teaching, pianist and pedagogue Dr. Moira Hopfe-Ostensen is an artist who displays prowess, and makes music from the heart, touching her audience with her wonderful communication and sensitivity.

Moira holds Bachelor and Masters Degrees from the University of Alberta, Canada, in Piano Performance and Literature. She has earned Certification of Advanced Studies, and an Associate Degree from the Royal College of Music (Piano Pedagogy), a Licentiate Degree from the Royal Academy of Music (Piano Performance), London, England and a Doctorate of Musical Arts Degree (Piano Pedagogy) at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth. Texas. Other study and teaching locations have included Arizona State University, the University of Western Ontario, the University of British Columbia, the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Johanneson Summer School of the Arts, Victoria, and the Powell River Academy of Music.

Moira has appeared as a solo and collaborative pianist throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe, and continues to be active as an adjudicator, examiner, and clinician. She is currently a professor at the School of Church Music, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is the Director of Southwestern Music Academy, Fort Worth, Texas. She has been certified by the Toronto Conservatory of Music as an ‘Advanced Specialist’, and is a member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music, Canada and the United States. The appointment from the Royal Conservatory places Moira among over 300 distinguished professional teachers and performers from across North America who are committed to the development of human potential through leadership in music and arts education. Many of her students have gained national and international recognition.

Moira has received numerous awards, including a Professional Distinction Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts from the Peace Hills Arts Council, Canada.

Walter MartellaWalter Martella, conductor and Music Director of the Powell River Academy of Music, has long been an integral part of Powell River's musical community. He is an accomplished pianist, accordionist and trumpeter, starting lessons at age five, and soon joining the original Boys Choir conducted by Don James. Music remained his focus as he earned a Diploma in Jazz Trumpet from Malaspina College (VIU), a Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of Victoria and attended the Banff School of Fine Arts. 

Conducting became a significant part of Martella's life and career when he returned to Powell River to study at PRAM under Don James. He has participated in the British Columbia Choral Federation's conducting program and has collaborated with world-renowned conductors. He has led noteworthy works like Holst's Rig Veda for choir and harp, the Messiah, Schubert's Mass in G, and Vivaldi's Gloria. He conducts the Academy Chamber Choir, Chor Musica Men's Choir and the Powell River Chorus as well as currently maintaining a full private teaching schedule.

Martella is a strong believer in the power of music as an important part of community. He has been an adjudicator for instrumental and choral festivals throughout British Columbia and is well known as an enthusiastic mentor, making room for his young students in his own public performances. He has recorded five jazz CDs, performed provincially with many well-known musicians in multiple genres and continues to be in demand all along the West Coast as a trumpet soloist and jazz pianist.