Dr. Maria Mika Guénette

Phone: (903) 510-2561 Office: TBA e-Mail: mgue@tjc.edu

Canadian pianist, Dr. Maria Mika Guénette began her studies at the age of eight and made her debut, at the age of fourteen, with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. Since then, she actively participated in numerous solo and collaborative performances in Canada, USA, Japan and Austria including appearances on Canadian National (CBC) radio, Japanese National (NHK) radio and most recently on WDAV radio in North Carolina.  She has also been a member of a Canadian Contemporary Music Ensemble called EMC2, performing the most current solo and ensemble music.

Maria’s skills have afforded her the opportunity to study around the world. She was awarded a Doctor of Music degree specializing in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music with a minor in Baroque Performance Practice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. During this time, she developed a special interest in exploring harpsichord repertoire, and as a result, she attained a Masters degree in Harpsichord Performance. Her mentors were Dr. Jean Barr of Eastman and Dr. William Porter of Eastman and Yale University. Maria’s possesses a Baccalaureate of Music in Piano Performance with a Minor in Violin, at the University of Ottawa under the tutelage of renowned French pianist, Jean-Paul Sevilla. While there, she was a winner of the University of Ottawa’s Concerto Competition, as well as several academic and merit scholarships.  Most notably, she was the first music major in seven years to receive the Joseph-Marie Quirion Faculty of Arts Scholarship. Upon graduation, Maria was awarded an all-inclusive grant by the Japanese Government (Monbusho) to pursue a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku).  Her specialization in Gabriel Fauré’s music provided the opportunity to conduct research in Paris, France. Maria’s interest and skills in violin and orchestral music gave her the opportunity to participate in string quartets and orchestras, including being a guest member of the first violin section of the Kagoshima Symphony Orchestra in Japan.

She was previously on faculty at Winston-Salem State University, Greensboro College and the North Carolina School of the Arts.