Berenika
Berenika's performances have taken her all over the world. She has appeared with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Asheville Symphony under Daniel Meyer, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Jukka Pekka Saraste, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada under Erich Kunzel, the Penderecki Festival Orchetra under Heinrich Schiff, the Boston Civic Symphony under Max Hobart in Jordan Hall, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the RIC Symphony Orchestra, the Bialystock Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, Camerata New York, the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, the Christ Church Orchestra and the Aspen Sinfonia among others. Recently she gave a tour of South America as a soloist with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas performing in the major concert halls of Brazil, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica,and Argentina, including the Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires for enthusiastic audiences. She was chosen to give a performance of the new Penderecki Piano Concerto with the Poznan Filharmonic for the composer's 70th Birthday. She also performed at Rockhotel Pianofest in New York and in the Allen Room, Jazz at Lincoln Center.
BerenikaPhoto: Copyright 2005 J Henry Fair
Berenika is the recipient of the prestigious Leonard Bernstein Scholarship at Harvard, the Arthur W. Foote prize of the historic Harvard Musical Association which has hosted such artists as Ferruccio Busoni, the John Knowles Paine Fellowship, the Canada Council for the Arts Award; she is the winner of the 1998 Nakamichi Piano Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and the winner of the 10th Anniversary YTV Achievement Award, which recognized her as Canada's top young instrumental performer when she was just 16. She started her sophomore year in college performing at Harvard's Sanders Theater for the first official event of the Inauguration of the 27th President of Harvard University, President Lawrence H. Summers, former US Secretary of the Treasury. After 9/11 she fulfilled her sense of obligation to play for the firefighters and relief workers at New York's Ground Zero, at Respite Center No.2, St. Paul's Church, near the rubble of the World Trade Center.
Berenika made a critically acclaimed live recording of the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 with Sinfonietta Cracovia under John Axelrod, distributed by Universal Music Group. Berenika is also the international spokeperson in all media for Casio Inc., Japan's Privia - a new line of digital pianos. Berenika's performances have been widely broadcast on television and radio, appearing on Bravo!, the CBC, CityTV, YTV, MDR Germany, WCQS, and the BBC. She was a featured performer on New York radio station WQXR's McGraw Hill Young Artist Showcase, hosted by Robert Sherman. She also appeared in a front page article titled "From Curtain Calls to Ivy Halls" in the New York Times Metro Section.
Berenika was the Leonard Bernstein Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center giving performances at Tanglewood on Parade, the Festival of Contemporary Music, the Steinway Recital series and in collaboration with the Mark Morris Dance Group at Jacob's Pillow. She was a New Horizon's Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, and also attended the Verbier Festival, Switzerland and the International Summer Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg.
She has had the honor of being presented to HM Queen Elizabeth II, performing in a gala concert at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, being introduced in the House of Commons, performing at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa and performing for the 40th anniversary of the Fulbright Commission.
Born a performer, Berenika started piano at age 4, by 5 she already won her first piano competition and at 9 she performed as concerto soloist with the Sault Ste Marie Symphony Ochestra. Coming from a northern Canadian town, she moved to New York to attend the Juilliard School and Professional Children's School at age 13. While Berenika might not resemble a scholar, having been photographed by celebrity photographer Douglas Kirkland and dressed in Halston, it is truly astonishing that in the midst of all her traveling, concerts and rehearsals, Berenika graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in both Music and Government. Her honors thesis was on arts policy - something very close to her heart. She is currently pursuing an Mphil in Performance and Musicology at Christ Church, Oxford University.