Joanne Bender

Music has always been a very important part of my life. I started studying piano at age 7 with my parents' encouragement. I lived on a farm near Stratford, Ontario, and was always involved in music at church and school. I loved playing the piano, especially for other people. I enjoyed piano duets with a fellow student, and I accompanied my sister who was a singer. Local music festivals and RCM exams motivated me. I liked science and math and decided to study them at University of Waterloo in order to become a high school teacher, but after 2 science degrees, I followed my passion for music and studied piano with Dieter Weber in Vienna. This was a life-changing experience. While raising our 4 children and teaching piano to many students every week, I attained 2 more degrees in music composition. As a member of Red Leaf composers' collective, I am pleased to be able to add to the Canadian new music landscape with several of my pieces in the RCM repertoire albums. I have been an active member of Kitchener-Waterloo ORMTA.