{"id":63,"date":"2012-08-10T02:38:05","date_gmt":"2012-08-10T02:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.1.50\/PierreBournaki\/web\/?page_id=63"},"modified":"2013-01-10T07:45:43","modified_gmt":"2013-01-10T07:45:43","slug":"biography-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/?page_id=63","title":{"rendered":"Who is Marika?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"left\">\n<h2 style=\"margin-top: 0;\">A unique artist<\/h2>\n<p>With unparalleled technical, musical and communication skills, Marika Bournaki is at once, a world class performer, outstanding pianist, vivacious young woman\u2026 and the freshest face on the classical music scene. Marika\u2019s innovative approach to her art and performance is reflected in her recent collaboration, \u201cLet\u2019s Play\u201d, with cutting-edge and world-renowned multimedia creative shop, Moment Factory. Her role as Ambassador to the Orchestre symphonique de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s summer event, \u201cA Cool Classical Journey\u201d was an exceptional opportunity to explore new and exciting ways to share her music with the public. Marika not only brings distinctive interpretations to favourite standards, she also extends her passion for music by commissioning works by younger composers and collaborating with artists from various fields.<\/p>\n<h2>A different kind of star<\/h2>\n<p>The award-winning documentary, <a href=\"?page_id=368\">\u201cI am not a rock star\u201d<\/a>, \u00a0directed by Bobbi Jo Hart and featuring Marika, has captivated audiences\u00a0of all ages in festivals around the world. The feature-length film\u2026 (see it at <a href=\"http:\/\/vimeo.com\/50312292\">http:\/\/vimeo.com\/50312292<\/a><em>) <\/em>\u2026 chronicles Marika\u2019s evolution as an artist from the age of 12 to 20. A runaway success at multiple international film festivals, <strong>\u201cI am not a rock star\u201d<\/strong> was screened at, among others, the 30th International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal, the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece, the Barcelona Music Documentary Film Festival, the DocsDF Festival in Mexico, the Napa Valley Film Festival in California. Marika\u2019s unique approach and intense passion have also been heard over the airwaves on Radio-Canada, Radio-France, BBC, WQXR in New York City, and Toronto\u2019s Classical 96.3 FM. She has been featured on television networks such as ERT, TF1, France 2, CTV, Global, Radio-Canada, CBC, and Canal+.<\/p>\n<h2>An internationally renowned classical pianist<\/h2>\n<p>Recent performances include a recital at the Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens, <strong>Greece,<\/strong> a recital at Plaza Hidalgo in <strong>Mexico,<\/strong> a benefit recital for the Glenn Gould Foundation at <strong>New York\u2019s <\/strong>Carnegie Hall, a guest solo appearance in <strong>Montreal<\/strong> with the Orchestre symphonique de Montr\u00e9al, recitals at the National Arts Center in <strong>Ottawa<\/strong>, at the Flanders Festival in <strong>Belgium<\/strong>, the Konzert Accordate Series in Aachen <strong>Germany<\/strong>, the EMMA Concert Association in <strong>Florida<\/strong>, Chamber Music Northwest in <strong>Oregon<\/strong>, and the Luminato Festival in <strong>Toronto<\/strong>. Other engagements include performances with the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra in <strong>Russia<\/strong>, as well as recitals in <strong>South Korea<\/strong>, <strong>Romania<\/strong>, <strong>Italy,<\/strong> <strong>Switzerland<\/strong>, and <strong>England<\/strong>. Marika holds a Bachelor&#8217;s degree from the Juilliard School of Music, in New York. She participated in the International Academy Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, as well as the Internationale Mendelssohn Akademie in Leipzig, playing in master classes for Dmitri Bashkirov, Andras Schiff, Karl-Heinz Kammerling and Arie Vardi.<\/p>\n<h2>A gifted performer<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>At the age of 5, Marika began her piano studies.<\/li>\n<li>At 9, she was soloist with Orchestre Symphonique de Montr\u00e9al in a performance of <strong>Mozart<\/strong>\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 17.<\/li>\n<li>At 11, she played <strong>Beethoven<\/strong>\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 1 under the direction of Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin. She also won First Prize at the <em>Pro-Piano Romania International Piano competition, <\/em>held in Bucharest, and was awarded the <em>Mihail Jora Prize<\/em> by the Association of Music Critics.<\/li>\n<li>At 12, Marika was invited to perform <strong>Ravel<\/strong>\u2019s Piano Concerto in G with the Timisoara Philharmonic Orchestra in Romania.<\/li>\n<li>At 15, she won Third Prize at the 17th International Roma 2006 Piano Competition in Italy.<\/li>\n<li>At 16, she was selected as one of eight pianists worldwide to participate in the Verbier Festival Academy in Switzerland, and was invited back in 2009.<\/li>\n<li>At 20, Chatelaine Magazine named her one of Canada\u2019s <em>2011 <strong>Women of the Year<\/strong><\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>At 21, the documentary, \u201c<a href=\"?page_id=368\">I Am Not A Rock Star<\/a>\u201d, was presented as a world premi\u00e8re at the 30th International Festival of Films on Art in Montr\u00e9al. Since then, the award-winning documentary has been presented in several international film festivals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"right\" class=\"dark-back right-paddings\">\n<p>\u201cMarika Bournaki delighted the audience \u2026\u00a0 her playing projects intensity and self-confidence\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>El Universal<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarika Bournaki \u2026 an undeniable talent\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>Reforma<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Celine Dion of classical\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>The Huffington Post<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the documentary \u201c<em>I\u2019m not a rock star<\/em>\u201d, Marika Bournaki blossoms into an independent-minded woman and artist\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>Variety Magazine <\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 Marika Bournaki exuded passion all evening and the public warmly rewarded her for it\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>La Tribune<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cA performance of astounding maturity\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>Aachener Zeitung<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The most poignantly moment came during 17 year-old pianist Marika Bournaki\u2019s arrangement of Oh Canada, when the capacity crowd leapt to its feet to sing along. When did she pen this stunning version, I asked? \u201cYesterday,\u201d she told me.\u201d But it worked out well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>The Globe&amp;Mail<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 Marika Bournaki dazzled the crowd\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>The Toronto Star<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were all immediately struck by the intensity, passion, concentration and depth of emotional commitment in Marika\u2019s playing. The promise for great things to come was unmistakable. \u201c<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; Brian Levine, Managing director, <em>Glenn Gould Foundation<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 18 year-old pianist Marika channels Glenn Gould\u2019s spirit like no other\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; <em>Idea City<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarika\u2019s playing displays disconcerting self-assurance\u2026 her determination and discipline lead me to set very hopes on her talent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">&#8211; Yannick N\u00e9zet- S\u00e9guin, conductor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A unique artist With unparalleled technical, musical and communication skills, Marika Bournaki is at once, a world class performer, outstanding pianist, vivacious young woman\u2026 and the freshest face on the classical music scene. Marika\u2019s innovative approach to her art and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/?page_id=63\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"Two_column_page.php","meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87,"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/63\/revisions\/87"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/0bbcc9c.netsolhost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}