Brian Finley

(pianist, composer, conductor, director) — Westben Artistic & Managing Director

Artistic & Managing Director of the Westben Arts Festival Theatre in Campbellford, Ontario, Brian Finley continues to pursue a multi-faceted career as a pianist, composer, director and impresario.

As a pianist, he has performed with orchestras such as the Dallas Symphony and Calgary Philharmonic, and at venues ranging from the Olympic Music Festival in Washington, to Wigmore Hall in London, England and the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. He has appeared in over ten international piano competitions including the 8th International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, and won the third Prize in the AMSA International Competition in Cincinnati as well as the Gina Bachauer Award in Dallas.

Twice the recipient of the Floyd S. Chalmers Award from the Ontario Arts Council, Brian earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance from the University of Toronto, studying with William Aide and Boris Lysenko. Also holding an ARCT, he pursued further studies with Maria Curcio in London, England. He has been a full scholarship student at the Banff Centre and the Victoria International Festival, as well as a frequent performer at the Olympic Music Festival in Washington.

His compositions which range from solo piano music to songs, choral works and arrangements for full symphony orchestra have been heard from Victoria to Vienna, and several, including his 70-minute Requiem for a Millennium have been published internationally by Boosey & Hawkes in New York. His several recordings include a collection of solo piano music from Wigmore Hall, in addition to many for the CBC and CFMX, and three critically acclaimed CD’s with soprano Donna Bennett, with whom he co-founded Westben. As a director, his recent productions for Westben include fully staged versions of The Sound of Music (1998), his own Requiem for a Millennium (1999) and his own musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He wrote the libretto, composed the music, directed and conducted from the keyboard, Westben’s 2001 musical extravaganza, the fully staged opera-musical SAMSON starring Mark DuBois, Donna Bennett and a cast & crew of 150 Philistines and Israelites. He is currently at work on his next opera-musical based on Rapunzel.

In 2002, Brian was awarded the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his work within his community and with his fellow Canadians.

Performer Website