Janina Fialkowska - Piano Six & Piano Plus (classical Music Charity Programs)

Piano Six & Piano Plus (classical Music Charity Programs)

Janina Fialkowska was the founder and first Artistic Director of Piano Six, a not-for-profit educational outreach program dedicated to keeping classical music alive in small communities throughout Canada. In 1993, Fialkowska convinced five of Canada’s most distinguished classical pianists to join with her in taking time off from their busy international careers to tour to outlying communities that rarely, if ever, figure on the itinerary of the world’s top musicians. In order to serve as many communities as possible, Fialkowska and the other Piano Six artists agreed to perform for a fraction of their usual fees. During its decade of operation (1993–2003), this award-winning program sent its artists on more than 60 regional tours, reaching over 100,000 Canadian music fans of all ages with their live performances, masterclasses and teachers’ workshops. In 2004, in order to broaden the scope of its activities, the Piano Six roster was expanded to include top-flight Canadian musicians from the fields of strings and voice as well as piano. Under the banner of Piano Plus, the new program’s associated artists continue to tour the length and breadth of Canada each season.