Mr. David Virelles

TORONTO, ON. - David Virelles, a student in the Music Program at Humber College, is the recipient of the first Oscar Peterson Prize which will be awarded annually, when merited, for musical excellence.The award was presented to Mr. Virelles by Oscar Peterson at a special ceremony/workshop held at the College recently.
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An exceptionally talented pianist, Mr. Virelles, 20, hails from Cuba.He came to Toronto a couple of years ago courtesy of the Toronto Arts Awards as a protégé of Canadian saxophonist/flutist Jane Bunnett.He studied at the University of Toronto for a year before coming to Humber."I like the environment here very much.At Humber, we get a lot of chances to play," he explains."Denny Christianson [Humber Music Program Director] brings famous jazz artists to the school, and this creates a great vibe and sense of community."

David Virelles comes by his talent honestly.His father is a singer/songwriter and his mother a flutist in a symphony orchestra in Cuba.One brother plays trumpet; another is an award-winning ballet dancer.

"I started playing the piano when I was six or seven and became really interested in jazz at 14," he says."There's a lot of terrific jazz in Cuba, and someday I'd like to be able to work on different projects with groups from my homeland.My dream is to create beautiful music - to reach as many people as possible with my music."

David Virelles performed on Jane Bunnett's Grammy-nominated Alma de Santiago and on her award-winning Cuban Odyssey, where some of his own compositions were featured.
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David Virelles meets all the requirements admirably.
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David Virelles

David Virelles, a student in the music program at Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, is the recipient of the first Oscar Peterson Prize, which will be awarded annually, when merited, for musical excellence.

Oscar Peterson presented the award to Virelles at a special ceremony held at the school recently.
...
Virelles comes by his talent honestly.His father is a singer/songwriter and his mother a flutist in a symphony orchestra in Cuba.One brother plays trumpet while another is an award-winning ballet dancer.

"I started playing the piano when I was six or seven and became really interested in jazz at 14," he said.

"There's lots of terrific jazz in Cuba, and someday I'd like to be able to work on different projects with groups from my homeland.My dream is to create beautiful music- to reach as many people as possible with my music."

Virelles performed on Jane Bunnett's Grammy-nominated Alma de Santiago and on her award winning Cuban Odyssey, where some of his own compositions were featured.

He is currently a member of Bunnett's group, 'Spirit's of Havana,' that will be touring in the spring and summer 2004.

David VirellesDavid Virelles, a former student in the Music Program at Humber College, was a recipient of the first Oscar Peterson Prize which will be awarded annually, when merited, for musical excellence.The award was presented to Mr. Virelles by Oscar Peterson at a special ceremony/workshop held at the College. .......More

Music student David Virelles was also awarded the first Oscar Peterson Prize for his exceptional musical ability, dedication, grades and leadership.
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Virelles studied music at the University of Toronto for one year prior to coming to Humber College.