Zain Solinski

Collaborative pianist Zain Solinski is a Toronto-based performer and educator, cultivating a career in music old, new, and improvised (very new). Beginning his artistic endeavours in his hometown of Lethbridge, Alberta, he studied with Linda Davies, regularly taking home first place rankings at Lethbridge Kiwanis Festival and representing the city at the provincial level. His artistic development in Lethbridge led him to work with some of the city’s most prominent musical ensembles, including New West Theatre, the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra, the Lethbridge Christian Women’s Choir, the University of Lethbridge Percussion Ensemble, and the University of Lethbridge Opera Workshop. He graduated with Great Distinction from the University of Lethbridge, where he studied under Dr. Deanna Oye for his Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance.
Zain finished his Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano under the tutelage of Dr. John Hess and Professor Marianna Chibotar-Rutkevich at Western University. There he received the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship for his research of Polish Art Song. A keen contributor to musical life at Western, he has worked with the school’s Contemporary Music Studio and Opera Workshop, as well as freelancing for fellow musicians.
Further afield, recent artistic activities include performances at Centric Music Festival and enrollment at the Franz Schubert Institute in Austria. Back home in Alberta he has worked with some of the province’s most prominent ensembles and festivals, including Three Sisters’ Opera Company, and Opera NUOVA. Zain is ever-ready to expand his musical palette in all directions, and brings the same openness to audiences and students. Whether it be some gnarly contemporary rep, Hunanese Art Song, or anything in between or beyond; he’s ready to play.