Joseph Petric
Joseph Francis Petric (born October 8, 1952) is a Canadian concert accordionist, musicologist, composer, author, and pedagogue. Formation After beginning accordion lessons at the age of five, Petric began private studies at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory when he was 17. He was then accepted to Queen's University where he studied accordion with Joe Macerollo; this was followed by studies in musicology with Rika Maniates at the University of Toronto. Petric continued performance studies with various instructors including Hugo Noth at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen, Renaissance specialist Leslie Huggett (1992–8), harpsichordist Colin Tilney (1997–2010), and forte-pianist Boyd McDonald (2009–15). Repertoire Petric is known for the impressive number of works he has introduced to the accordion repertoire. The performer’s website presently states that he has commissioned over 360 pieces including 31 electroacoustic works and 21 concerti. Electroacoustic works Although the electroacoustic genre was initially most prevalent in avant garde circles, these works were welcomed enthusiastically in programs Petric has presented to general audiences. These compositions include digital and computer stochastic programming, live digital delay systems, electroacoustic CD playback, interactive software, sound processing, techno-chamber, live computer systems, and MAC patch software. Alexa Woloshyn’s recent publication An Orchestra at My Fingertips: A History of the Canadian Electronic Ensemble mentions Petric multiple times for his involvement in the pioneering Canadian Ensemble, his collaborations with composer David Jaeger, and his recordings for the Canadian Music Centre’s record label Centrediscs. Concerti Petric has a concerto-led career that is sustained by commissioning new works from emerging and established composers. The 30 concerto performances Petric gave across North America and Europe between 1995 and 1997 speaks to the importance of these commissioned works in the musician's career. These commissions include concerti by composers like Peter Paul Koprowski (1994), Omar Daniel (1998), Denis Gougeon (2004), James Rolfe (2005), and Brian Current (2008), among many others. On 8 October 2010, Petric performed three concertos in one night in a concert featuring works by Gougeon, Current, and Piazzolla performed by the Victoria Symphony and Maestra Tania Miller. Performing arts Petric's performance career began within the traditional conservatory contexts of the accordion, but by the early 1980s it was clear that his performances were becoming increasingly post-colonial. Petric expresses this post-colonial vision in the concert hall with performances that include free improvisation, comprovisation, electroacousticism, multi-media, theatrical performance, techno-chamber (with computer and software), Baroque- and Classical-era rhetoric, and the post-modern concerto. This holistic approach to performance has been received well among audiences and critics; Peter Reed’s review of Die Winterreise with Pentaèdre and Prégardien at Wigmore Hall in 2019 praises Petric's "extraordinary grasp of [the accordion’s] ability to sound like 'breath from another planet'”. Touring Petric has been represented by several international management agencies concurrently throughout his career, which has allowed him to develop a strong international touring presence. His appearances include return engagements with Musique Royale, Debut Atlantic, Debut Atlantic Encore, Prairie Debut, John Lewis Partnership (UK), Jeunesses Musicales, Columbia Artists Community Concerts, and Sweden's Reikskonzerter. Petric’s 1986 American debut at Washington’s