|  Simon
Fryer is an artist of the utmost versatility, as at home with
the demands of the music of our time as those of historical
performance, with the cooperation of ensemble music-making
and in the solo recital spotlight.
In demand not only as a performer but
also for his masterclass, teaching and coaching skills, Simon
maintains a busy schedule at home and abroad. His unusual
ability to bring musicians and audiences together through
great music is recognized by his Artistic Directorship of
the Women's Musical Club of Toronto's Music in the Afternoon
- one of Canada's longest established concert series, now
in its 112th season!
Formerly a member of the Penderecki
String Quartet - one of the Canada's most successful ensembles
- he performed regularly across Canada and around the world
including appearances in Paris, Rome, St. Petersburg, New
York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, China and the
Yukon. The PSQ released several discs during this time including
the complete cycle of Bartok's String Quartets; Launch Pad
- (works written for the PSQ - nominated for a West Coast
Music Award); and the works of Marjan Mozetich and Alice Ho.
Despite the quartet's intense schedule
Simon performed as soloist with the Da Capo and Elora Festival
Singers (works by Morlock and Tavener), and collaborated with
the St. Lawrence and Silver Birch Quartets as well as the
Aradia Ensemble and the Nota Bene Period Orchestra. He premiered
the Casanova Suite for cello and winds by Johan De Meij in
Canada under the baton of the composer and presented an array
of sonata programs with piano. He will shortly release a CD
of Victorian English Sonatas with pianist Leslie De'ath.
Prior to joining the PSQ Simon was
a member of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra working with the
world's great conductors and soloists and touring the Pacific
Rim, Europe and the USA as well as recording several discs.
Diversity remained the key however: at the Royal Conservatory
of Music in Toronto, he debuted CelloDrama: an exploration
of the versatility of the cello involving music for one to
twelve cellos and even a few car horns... Elsewhere he presented
his recital program of 20th Century British cello music: Britain
before Britten. Chamber music included appearances with Scott
St. John's Fabulous Five and Sensational Six, Penderecki's
Sextet at the University of Toronto New Music Festival and
tribute performances to the late violinist and pedagogue Lorand
Fenyves and 50th birthday of composer Christos Hatzis. These
events complement ventures with such luminaries as pianist
Leon Fleisher, bassist Joel Quarrington, violist Steven Dann
and Isabel Bayrakdarian, with whom CBC Records released Juno
winning Azulao of music for cellos and soprano.
Simon's notably long list of first
performances is exemplified by his North American premiere
of Krzysztof Penderecki's Concerto Grosso per Tre Violoncelli
ed Orchestra ("handsomely played" according to the
Toronto Star) and his collaboration with composer R. Murray
Schafer while a guest member of the celebrated St. Lawrence
String Quartet, in the World Premiere of Mr. Schafer's 440
- for String Quartet and Chamber Orchestra. With the Okanagan
and Mississauga Symphonies respectively, Simon has introduced
Cello Concertos by such diverse figures as Ronald Royer and
Sir Arthur Sullivan to Canada.
Simon's first solo CD: Music of
a life so far..., on Phoenix Records, acclaimed as 'a
fascinating collection' by the Toronto Star and 'ideally brewed
and technically complete' by the Winnipeg Free Press, presents
a broad spectrum of repertoire
from the performer's lifetime. In fact, Simon has been active
in the field of new music since performances in 1982 with
Expose, at London's South Bank Centre. He has introduced the
music of Oscar Morawetz to Africa, worked in Canada with some
of this century's most influential creators including Iannis
Xenakis, Krzystof Penderecki, Witold Lutoslawski, Siegfried
Palm, Tan Dun, Christos Hatzis, Alexina Louie, Chan Ka Nin
and Gary Kulesha; and performed and recorded with both New
Music Concerts and Soundstreams Canada in Toronto.
Simon's musical life is regularly featured
by the CBC and has been complemented by his positions with
the Faculties of Wilfrid Laurier University, the University
of Toronto and the Glenn Gould School. In the summer, he has
been a member of the faculty of the Casalmaggiore International
Festival in Italy; Winnipeg Celli Institute; Indiana University
String Academy and the Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute
as well as serving as Director of QuartetFest - the PSQ's
own Festival at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Sustaining a precocious interest in
the cello from age five Simon rose to advanced studies in
performance at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester
and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Searching
for more than his home country seemed to offer, after a character-building
sojourn in South Africa he immigrated to Canada. Essential,
life-enhancing study at the Banff Centre in Alberta led to
his move to Ontario and an invitation to join the TSO.
As soloist, chamber and orchestral
musician, Simon has appeared in more than thirty countries
on six continents. He performs on an instrument completed
in 1998 by Masa Inokuchi of Toronto.
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