Meet Pianist/Composer Artist-in-Residence at First Friday Art Trail
The Caetani Centre is pleased to welcome David Restivo, award winning pianist and composer, to our Artist-in-Residency Program!
During his residency, David will be focused on a long-term project that started 2 years ago in Italy. He is working to complete a series of compositions scored for a jazz quintet, plus a classical chamber ensemble consisting of string quartet, flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, and French horn.
The public can meet with David and listen to his musical work in the Caetani Courtyard at the next First Friday Art Trail on July 4th from noon to 4 p.m.
Born in Lansing, Michigan, molded by the mountains and coasts of New England, and based primarily in Toronto, Canada since 1982, he has been a sought-after and influential figure in Canada’s jazz community since the late 1980s. He recently relocated to Nelson, BC after accepting an offer to join the fulltime music faculty at Selkirk College.
Well-known for his work with Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, the Mike Murley Quintet, and legendary songwriter Marc Jordan, David has performed and recorded with such renowned artists as Dave Holland, Curtis Fuller, Mel Tormé, Kenny Wheeler, Jon Hendricks, and David Clayton-Thomas.
A dedicated music educator for over 20 years, he has previously taught at Humber College, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the University of Toronto. His own teachers have included Muhal Richard Abrams, Jim McNeely, and Kenny Werner.
Immersed in the arts from birth, a chance discovery of a Dizzy Gillespie recording at an early age led him to eventually focus on jazz and improvised music, though he derives inspiration from a wide range of musical and non-musical sources, including John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Joni Mitchell, Genesis, Hazrat Inayat Khan, Gustav Mahler, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Marc Chagall, and J.S. Bach.
David is no stranger to Vernon, as he has previously performed at the Vernon Jazz Club with the Nelson Jazz Collective and Melody Diachun.
David has been described as “...simply one of the most exceptional jazz pianists of his generation that Canada can boast of...” (Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal).
Located in the East Hill neighbourhood of Vernon on Pleasant Valley Road, the Caetani Centre is a regular participant in the First Friday Art Trail, which is a free event that sees participating artists open their studios/galleries on the first Friday of every month. The Caetani studio artists and artists-in-residence are frequent participants.
In addition, the Centre’s heritage house museum and art gallery, currently featuring a selection of paintings from Sveva Caetani’s Recapitulation Series, will be open during the next First Friday event.
Admission to the museum and gallery is by donation.
For more information on First Friday and to see a map of the participating studios and galleries, please visit firstfridayokanagan.com.
