The Royal Conservatory Appoints Pianist Stewart Goodyear as Inaugural Artist-in-Residence

“The search for the right person who could satisfy all aspects of the multi-faceted role of Artist-in-Residence was not an easy one,” said Dr. Peter Simon, President & CEO of The Royal Conservatory. “Stewart is not only an acclaimed performer and composer – he is also a gifted communicator and teacher with keen insights into music.  As an alumnus of the RCM, he also understands our uncompromising pursuit of excellence. I could not be prouder that Stewart has come home.”

“The Royal Conservatory plays such an important role in this country, not just in the lives of people who will make a career in music, but also in helping people to do whatever they’re going to do in their life,” said Stewart Goodyear, who started studying at the Conservatory at the age of six. 

The Artist-in-Residence role will be integrated into all aspects of The Royal Conservatory’s efforts and mission to develop human potential. In addition to annual performances at the Conservatory’s acclaimed Koerner Hall, Mr. Goodyear will conduct masterclasses at the RCM’s professional training schools – The Glenn Gould School and The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists – and will deliver content for the RCM Certificate Program. He will also be involved with the Oscar Peterson Program at the newly renamed Oscar Peterson School of Music (formerly the Royal Conservatory School), a scholarship program offering tuition-free music instruction to underserved youth, beginning in the fall of 2022.  

Stewart Goodyear is an accomplished pianist, improviser, and composer.  Proclaimed "a phenomenon" by the Los Angeles Times and "one of the best pianists of his generation" by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Mr. Goodyear has performed with, and has been commissioned by, many of the major orchestras and chamber music organizations around the world. His discography includes the complete sonatas and piano concertos of Beethoven, as well as concertos by Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Rachmaninov, an album of Ravel piano works, and an album, entitled "For Glenn Gould" – another RCM alumnus. In 2020, Orchid Classics released his piano sonata and composition for piano and orchestra, “Callaloo”. He recently released “Phoenix” which includes two original compositions and on November 27, he will perform the world premiere of his new work, Piano Quintet, in Koerner Hall along with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, op. 125 (trans. Franz Liszt, S. 464/9), for solo piano, choir, and singers. 

Said James Anagnoson, Dean of The Glenn Gould School – the RCM’s performance-focused post-secondary institution, and Stewart’s first teacher, “"I am extremely excited to welcome Stewart back to the RCM in his new role as Artist-in-Residence. I was fortunate to first meet Stewart when he was still a child, and it was immediately apparent to me as well as to my professional colleagues, that this young artist had an extraordinary gift – a brilliant mind and the musical intelligence and insight of a mature concert artist. Students of The Glenn Gould School have heard Stewart in performance, as well as through his extensive discography, and are eagerly looking forward to the opportunity to perform and be guided by him in regular master class settings.” 

Barry Shiffman, Director of The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists, a school for gifted classical musicians (ages 8 to 18) and the kind of school that a young Stewart Goodyear would enter now – said, “The Royal Conservatory has a long tradition of inviting the most exceptional and inspiring artists to work with our young musicians.  Stewart is at the point in his career where he has so much information and experience; much more than can be shared through performance alone. This appointment will serve an important group of young and talented musicians who deserve to work with and be inspired by the best.”   

“Stewart is a collaborative spirit – that’s gold to a concert presenter,” said Mervon Mehta, Executive Director, Performing Arts at the Conservatory. “He was one of the first pianists we presented in Koerner Hall when it opened and has performed here more than any other artist – including playing all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in one day … a project that he has now taken world-wide.  I know that we will do something that brings classical music forward, into a different area and that opens it up to a different market – Stewart is always new, always fresh, always has a good idea, and, most importantly, delivers every time.”  

“What I'm excited about for these next three years, is not knowing what's going to happen,” concluded Mr. Goodyear. “I love that I'm going to be on this journey, and I know it's going to be very musically inspiring.”