Drew Comstock, cello and Benjamin Smith, piano

A concert of works for cello and piano including:
J.S. Bach(1685-1750) Cello Suite # 2 in D minor, BWV 1008 (c. 1720)
Prelude
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Menuetto 1
Menuetto 2
Gigue
Alice Ho (1960), Caprice (1994)
Claude Debussy (1962-1918), Sonate pour violincelle et piano, L135 (1915)
Prologue
Sérénade
Finale.
Robert Schumann (1810-56), Adagio and Allegro, Op 70 (1849)
Cellist Drew Comstock has been praised for his “deep and sonorous” playing (South Florida Classical Review). He served as principal cellist of the New World Symphony, Miami, for three seasons under Michael Tilson-Thomas, leading performances at the Arscht Center, New World Center, and Carnegie Hall. He is the co-Founder and cellist of the Canadian Chamber Orchestra, regularly joins the cello sections of the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, as well as the Hamilton Philharmonic, and in 2022 was a selected as a Classical:NEXT fellow.
A believer in the transformative power of chamber music, Drew has made music with artists such as Anthony Marwood, Jonathan Crow, David Geringas, Steven Dann, and Mark Fewer. Alongside violinist Aaron Schwebel, Comstock performs in Ontario prisons through Looking at the Stars. Comstock has collaborated with composers John Adams, Osvaldo Golijov, and Steve Reich, and has premiered works by Efstratios Minakakis and Michael Tilson-Thomas.
Comstock began his formal musical studies in high school, graduating from the University of North Carolina - School of the Arts. He continued his education at the New England Conservatory, McGill University, and the Glenn Gould School. His mentors include Yeesun Kim, Brian Manker, Desmond Hoebig, Andre Roy, Timothy Ying, and Steven Dann.
Described as having “scintillating technique” (Barrie Examiner), Canadian pianist Benjamin Smith holds degrees from Juilliard, the Glenn Gould School, the University of Toronto, and Stony Brook University. He has performed across North America, including appearances as soloist in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and performing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” in Carnegie Hall with the Hart House Orchestra. Other concerto appearances include the Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra, the Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra, the Ontario Philharmonic, Orchestra London, the Burlington Symphony, and the Windsor Symphony. He has appeared in recital with members of many of North America’s major orchestras, as well as with numerous world-renowned instrumentalists, string quartets, and ensembles.
Dr. Smith currently resides in Toronto, where he maintains a concert schedule, and serves on the faculties of the Glenn Gould School and the Taylor Young Artist Academy, both at the Royal Conservatory of Music. He previously held a position on the piano faculty at the University of Western Ontario. He has been heard nationally on CBC Music, as well as in radio broadcasts in the UK, and may be heard on several commercial recordings.