2026 Live Adjudicators

Godwin Friesen is a pianist and composer from the Canadian Prairies, exuberantly discovering where a life in music can take him. Winning the nationwide Concours OSM (Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal) in 2022 has led to several collaborations with the leading orchestra of his current hometown of Montréal. Meanwhile, first prizes in the 2023 Trondheim International Competition and the 2026 Ilmari Hannikainen International Competition with the Rilian Trio (Daniel Dastoor, violin, and David Liam Roberts, cello) have opened doors to professional trio engagements in Europe and across Canada. Godwin’s musical formation began with singing and playing in the Friesen Family Band. An early piano teacher, Sheila Wright, introduced him to composing; his compositions have become an important element of his performances, including in his recent duo tours organized by Prairie Debut. After five formative years learning from pianist Bonnie Nicholson in Saskatoon, he studied with John O’Conor at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto and then with Henry Kramer and Jean Saulnier at l’Université de Montréal, where he finished a master’s in 2024.