Ian Parker, the young Vancouver pianist known for his artistry and charm, returns to the stage of the Raven's Cry Theatre on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 30.A perennial hit with Sunshine Coast audiences, Parker's concert marks his fifth appearance here as a Coast Recital Society performer. Sunday's recital begins at 2:30 p.m., and before that, at 1:30, Parker will inaugurate a new, continuing feature for the CRS Ñ a pre-concert chat about the music to be featured."It's appropriate that Ian Parker is the artist we've asked to present our first pre-concert discussion," said CRS Artistic Director, Frances Heinsheimer Wainwright. "His wit, intelligence and insight combined with his ability to connect with the audience make him not only a great performer, but also a natural and eloquent interpreter of the power of music. He'll discuss the concert repertoire, answer audience questions Ñ and do it all from the piano."Parker was born in Vancouver in 1978 to a family of pianists. His musical education began with his father, Edward Parker, and proceeded to a masters of music degree from the Juilliard School in New York City. In 2001, he won first prize in CBC Radio's National Competition for Young Performers. While at Juilliard, he received the 2002 William Petschek Piano Dbut Award and was twice winner of the Gina Bachauer Scholarship Piano Competition. His performance schedule takes him across North America, western Europe and Israel, and he has just returned from Hawaii, where he performed with the Vogler String Quartet of Berlin, prior to their recent Coast Recital Society appearance in Sechelt.Parker's concert promises to be a crowd-pleaser, with a program of keyboard works by Muzio Clementi, Franz Schubert, Maurice Ravel and, as a grand finale, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky's Pic-tures at an Exhibition. He is also scheduled to perform a school concert at 9:30 a.m., on Monday, Oct. 31, at the Raven's Cry. In keeping with the Halloween date, young concert-goers will be asked to adhere to a strict "costumes only" dress code. Tickets are still available for Parker's Sunday afternoon recital. Call Mary Lea Bell at 604-886-8330.
