Andrew Tunis

Tunis, Andrew

Andrew (Logan) Tunis. Pianist, accompanist, teacher, b Fredericton 30 Apr 1956, B MUS (University of Ottawa) 1978, M MUS (Manhattan School of Music) 1980. His early training was in St Catharines, Ont, and at the McGill Conservatory, followed by studies with Douglas Voice and Jean-Paul Sévilla at the University of Ottawa and, supported by the Canada Council, with Artur Balsam at the Manhattan School of Music.

Awards and Performances
While at the Manhattan School of Music, Tunis received the Pablo Casals Award for outstanding musical achievement. He won a first at the 1979 New York Young Artists in Recital competition (which led to a Carnegie Recital Hall engagement), the 1980 Canadian Music Competitions, the 1981 CBC Radio Talent Competition and, in duo recital with cellist Desmond Hoebig, the 1984 Munich International Competition. He has given solo recitals, many broadcast by CBC, in Fredericton, Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, and Winnipeg; he has also performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Calgary Philharmonic, and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra. His European solo debut was in 1989 in Ischia, Italy.

Tunis has won praise for his fluent technique and his approach that balances intellect with intense emotional involvement. His duo partnership with Hoebig began in 1980. The duo made its European debut at Wigmore Hall, London, in 1986, has been broadcast by CBC, German and Israeli radio, and has toured Ontario, British Columbia, the Maritimes, and, in 1987, Egypt and Israel. It has appeared at Vancouver's Expo 86, in cities throughout Canada, in Germany and at the Algarve and Madeira festivals in Portugal. Tunis has performed solo piano works by Steven Gellman. With Hoebig he has performed Prévost's Sonata, and has recorded Kenins' Suite Concertante (1986, RCI 641/4-ACM 33 CD) and works by Beethoven (1986, CBC Musica Viva MV-1023).

A sought-after chamber musician, Tunis has performed with Sandra Graham, Neal Gripp, Antonio Lysy, Walter Prystawski, Richard Roberts, and Angèle Dubeau, with whom he has toured in Canada and recorded (1988, Analekta AN-8701). In 1987 Tunis joined Les Chambristes de Montréal, and in 1988 he joined the Pierrot Ensemble and became a founding member of the Alexandria Trio (with violinist Andrée Azar and cellist Elizabeth Dolin). The latter ensemble premiered Edward Betts Manning's Trio, written in the early 20th century, in Ottawa in 1989. In 1997, Tunis organized and performed a series of concerts devoted to the complete chamber music (with piano) written by Johannes Brahms. These concerts included many of Canada's most prominent musicians.

In addition to many awards, Tunis has received numerous grants from the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council.

Teaching Career

Tunis began teaching at the University of Ottawa in 1981. He is an associate professor and the coordinator of the keyboard sector there; he teaches applied music and chamber music.

Recordings

Tunis has made several recordings with Desmond Hoebig, including Beethoven Variations and Sonata (CBC), Chopin/Kenins (Radio-Canada) and Rachmaninoff/Shostakovich (CBC). He has also recorded with Angèle Dubeau (French Sonatas, Analekta) and the Pierrot Ensemble (Works of Donald Steven and Gary Hayes, Cansona). He has two solo albums: Patrick Cardy's Dances and Dirges (Cansona) and Music of Harry Somers (CMC).