Artists

After early studies with Keiko Parker and Edward Parker, pianist Jamie Parker studied with Kum-Sing Lee at the Vancouver Academy of Music and University of British Columbia (UBC), graduating from both in the 1980s with a major in Piano Performance, and a minor in Midnight Beach Fires. With the help of the Canada Council, Parker went to The Juilliard School to study with Adele Marcus, receiving his Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in the early 1990s. NYC still brings back fond memories of friends, concerts, museums, Zabar’s, and Gray’s Papaya.

While at UBC, Parker won the Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition as a soloist and collaborative pianist, resulting in his first amazing tours of Canada. During his time at Juilliard, Parker won prizes at the Gina Bachauer and Montréal International Piano Competitions. Parker now sits on competition juries with great empathy.

During a ten-year span across his university years, Jamie spent his summers at Banff Centre
for Arts and Creativity, studying piano and canoeing with Marek Jablonski, chamber music with Lorand Fenyves, and maximum intensity with Aldo Parisot. Coming full circle, Dr. Parker is now
an Artistic Director at Banff Centre. The Evolution: Classical and Evolution: Quartet programs were launched in 2021 and have been a resounding success with the next generation of community- minded musicians.

In 1993, Parker agreed to ‘play a few concerts together and we’ll see where it goes’ with a couple of friends, and Gryphon Trio was born. 29 years later, they continue to tour the world, make recordings (Jamie has three Juno Awards with Gryphon Trio, and a fourth with Isabel Bayrakdarian), commission Canadian composers, enjoy community engagement activities, explore multi-media collaborations, and teach.

Parker is the Rupert E. Edwards Chair in Piano Performance and Full Professor at the University of Toronto. When not busy with music, Jamie enjoys time with his family and dogs, and running the Parker News Network.