Joseph Fridman (M.Mus., Piano Performance and Opera Directing) has earned two Master’s Degrees – as a pianist and opera director – both from the world-renowned St. Petersburg State Conservatory (Russia). Prior to this he received a bachelor from the Kyiv (Ukraine) Music College. Joseph is a concert pianist, teacher, vocal coach, Opera director and accompanist.

He performs in solo and chamber recitals and has been broadcast frequently on CBC Radio. Joseph taught at the Schools for Musically Gifted Children of St. Petersburg and Kiev and the Pskov Music College, and performed with the St. Petersburg and Pskov Philharmonic Orchestras.

Mr. Fridman served on the faculty of the Alberta College Conservatory of Music and the University of Alberta. He also worked as a repetiteur and diction coach at the Edmonton Opera and Opera Nuova.

He and his wife Tanya were producers, performers, and stage directors for "Musical Encounters", a series of concerts for children combining instrumental and vocal music, theatre, puppetry and paintings.

Joseph lectures and gives masterclasses and workshops throughout Canada, Ukraine, Russia and the USA. He has taught at various summer schools such as: “Strings and Keys” (Bergen), Alberta College International Music Academy (Edmonton), “Vivo!” (Edmonton) and was a clinician at the CASSA (Calgary) Summer School.

He has adjudicated a number of festivals and competitions, including the prestigious Canadian Music Competition (CMC) and Seattle Young Artists Music Festival (SYAMFA). Mr. Fridman currently teaches at the Alberta Music Academy, which he and his wife Tanya founded in 2002.

Joseph's piano students have received first class honors and medals in RCM and Conservatory Canada Exams, first and second prizes in the Kiwanis Festival, Fall Festival and Northern Alberta Concerto Competition. Many of his students have continued their studies at prestigious institutions such as McGill University, University of Toronto and Juilliard School.