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Canadian pianist and composer Giancarlo Scalia was born in Montreal. His musical education began at the age of 10 with piano and theory studies with Paolo Vani at the McGill Conservatory of Music. After graduating with Honors at the age of 16, he pursued his studies with acclaimed concert pedagogue Dr. Angela Chan, before entering the renowned Ecole de Musique Vincent d'Indy. As a performing pianist, his repertoire ranges from composers like Bach, Beethoven and Liszt to modern composers such as Shchedrin and Messiaen. His own compositions and those of his favorite composer, Fryderyk Chopin, also make up a significant part of his concert repertoire. A proud supporter of contemporary composers, Mr. Scalia gave the world premiere of Montreal composer Octavian Lecca's Portrait in May 2006 and in August 2008, he, along with mezzo-soprano Christianne Belanger, also created the world premiere recording of composer Pierre DuBois' Combien de temps la terre..., a piece commemorating the tragic events that occured at Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique in 1989. Besides his numerous recital and concert performances, Mr. Scalia also enjoys performing at various benefit concerts. He performed at the Brain Waves Gala (benefiting the Franco di Giovanni Foundation) three years in a row as well as for the Canadian Cancer Society, the Make a Wish Foundation, Montreal's Parcs Vivants and other benefit organizations. As a composer, Giancarlo Scalia's works number in the 40s and are composed for a variety of instruments, including works for solo instruments, chamber groups and orchestra, as well as for electronic instruments and combinations of electronic and acoustic instruments. His compositional style is a unique blend of romantic and contemporary melodies and harmonies and the majority of his compositions may be classified as tonal, even if contemporary elements are present. Chopin and Ennio Morricone, as well as many other composers, represent the main influences in Giancarlo Scalia's music. In November 2004, he received his first commission for a piece for 1 piano, 8 hands that was premiered at the Maison Trestler in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec later that year and in 2005, Giancarlo Scalia entered the studio to record his first album of piano compositions. The CD, entitled Sogno d'Amore (Liebestraum), was released in April 2005 under Davisca Productions and led him to various media appearances, including televised performances throughout Canada. The disc is now available in Canadian stores and worldwide through the Indie Pool website. Mr. Scalia began working in the film music field when he was commissioned in 2006 by the Laurier Macdonald Media Foundation to compose the music for the documentary Ripples in Time. The hour-long documentary received an AMTEC award and Giancarlo Scalia has since worked on film projects that have been presented in Canada as well as in Europe. His 2008 collaboration with the Spanish director Raimundo Morte was premiered at the FOIRE INTERNATIONAL LIBERO 2008 festival in Barcelona, Spain. Giancarlo Scalia continues to perform and compose and is currently studying with Jimmy Briere at l'Ecole de Musique Vincent d'Indy. His composition Aria for Strings was recently premiered by the Vincent d'Indy string orchestra and other premieres are scheduled for 2009, including the composition Duet for piano and tape and the composition Rhapsody for piano and orchestra, which will be premiered with the Orchestre d'Harmonie Leonardo da Vinci as part of the 2009 Semaine Italienne de Montreal festival.

For more information on Giancarlo Scalia, visit his website at www.giancarloscalia.com