Download Biography in 300 words

Douglas Finch
Biography in 300 words
Douglas Finch is a Canadian pianist and composer, known for his innovative and imaginative
approach to performance, and for helping to revive the lost art of classical improvisation in concert.
He was born in Winnipeg, and had his initial musical training with his mother and later Winnifred
Sim and Jean Broadfoot. He continued at the University of Western Ontario with William Aide and
then at Juilliard, NY, with Beveridge Webster. After winning a Silver Medal at the Queen Elisabeth
International Competition in Brussels in 1978, he began to perform extensively throughout Canada,
as well as devoting much of his time to composition, with a number of his works being broadcast on
CBC Radio.
He settled in London, UK, in 1993 and soon afterwards co-founded The Continuum Ensemble with
conductor Philip Headlam, premiering over 40 new works and recording for Avie and NMC (music
by Errollyn Wallen and Roger Smalley). He has been artistic director of several acclaimed events in
London, including 'In the MOMENT', a festival of dance and music at Trinity Laban Conservatoire
of Music and Dance, Greenwich in February 2009 that featured over 350 performers.
As a composer, he has written works for piano, chamber ensemble, orchestra and theatre as well as
the soundtracks for four feature-length films by British director Jon Sanders, one of which - Late
September (2009) - features him as a pianist/character in the film. His ‘Night Love Song - Concerto
for Viola and Chamber Orchestra’ was premièred by Rivka Golani and the Canadian Sinfonietta at
the Glenn Gould Concert Hall, Toronto, November 24, 2012.
Douglas Finch is Professor of Piano and Composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and
Dance, and a regular guest teacher at Chetham’s School of Music, Chetham’s International Piano
Summer School, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.