Michael Jarvis Michael Jarvis has been acclaimed as one of Canada’s finest harpsichordists, fortepianists and continuo players. He has performed with many of Canada’s leading orchestras and chamber ensembles including Symphony Nova Scotia, the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Aradia, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Symphony Niagara, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony, I Musici de Montreal, The Vancouver CBC Orchestra, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra as well as with Via Salzburg, the Toronto Chamber Orchestra, the Tudor Singers of Montreal, the Elmer Isler Singers, I Furiosi, the Toronto Consort, the Vancouver Bach Choir, among many others. He was a guest conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra and for fifteen years Artistic Director of the period instrument ensemble The Baroque Players (of Hamilton.) He also may be heard regularly at some of Canada's finest summer music festivals, including The Elora Festival, the Guelph Spring Festival, The Grand River Baroque Festival, The Festival of the Sound, and Music at Westben.

In addition to performing across Canada, he has performed as soloist and continuo player throughout the USA, England, Italy and Bermuda. He has accompanied or conducted many of Canada’s finest singers from Maureen Forrester to Russell Braun and is in demand across the country as a continuo player on both harpsichord and fortepiano. Michael has been recorded on the Hungaroton, ATMA, Naxos, Solitudes and Avalon CD labels, and has many times broadcast nationally and regionally for the CBC, as well as across the U.S. on NPR. His performing editions of 17th and 18th century choral and organ music are published by GIA, Chicago.

Michael has taught fortepiano at the University of British Columbia and harpsichord, continuo, and baroque vocal ornamentation at the University of Toronto. He has also taught harpsichord performance at Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and at Havergal College, Toronto. He is also Director of Music at St. Jude's Parish and Shrine in Vancouver, BC. He is on faculty as harpsichordist and vocal coach at the Early Music Vancouver Summer Baroque Vocal Programme "The Compleat Singer". He was co-host and performer (with soprano Carolyn Sinclair) on the national 13-part television series on 19th-century music ‘Come into the Parlour’ broadcast regularly across Canada on Bravo and Vision TV. Mr. Jarvis is featured on two national Canadian television specials "A Baroque Christmas" and "A Baroque Easter". Now seasonal favourites, they may be seen on Vision and Bravo-tv.

He is also co-host and star of the 13-part television series "Come into the Parlour". Featuring co-host and star Carolyn Sinclair, soprano, and their original 1857 Chickering square grand, the series features some of Canada's finest musicians from the opera and concert stages, including baritone Russell Braun, mezzo Kimberley Barber, violinist Mayumi Seiler, tenor Eric Shaw, baritone Bruce Kelly, 'cellist Margaret Gay, and violinst Julie Baumgartel. "Come into the Parlour" can be seen nationally in Canada on Bravo-TV and Vision.

Since moving to Vancouver in 2006, he is a regularly featured performer with Early Music Vancouver, the Vancouver Symphony, and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, this past season he performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 14 on the fortepiano, Brandenburg V in Regina, a programme of virtuoso Italian violin concerti (on period instruments) with Tafelmusik's baroque violinist, Julie Wedman for St. Jude's Pro Musica; he directed the incidental music for a Moliere play for the Theatre de L'Arbe Perche (also on period instruments); as well as a three-concert summer music series with baroque violinist Paul Luchkow, and most recently, a recital on fortepiano of Haydn and Mozart lieder with acclaimed soprano and early music specialist Ellen Hargis; a recital of early 19th century music for period guitar, baroque violin, and fortepiano with the guitarist, Alexander Dunn and violinist Paul Luchkow for the Early Music Society of the Islands (Victoria). Upcoming engagements for 2009 include performances and masterclasses at the Cowichan Valley Music Society, Mozart's Requiem with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (with Kathleen Brett,
Elizabeth Turnbull, Benjamin Butterfield, and John Relyea); in November/December 2009 he will be playing harpsichord continuo for Les Violons de Roi's 25th Anniversary North American Tour, with performances in Quebec City, Montreal, Carnegie Hall (New York) and the Walt Disney Recital Hall (Los Angeles) ; and the Bach Continuo Project "Festival Cantatas for Christmas" (with soloists Suzie Leblanc, Laura Pudwell, Tyler Duncan, and Sumner Thompson) as part of Early Music Vancouver's Series at the Chan Centre in Vancouver.

"Jarvis has an awesome technique that produces music of enormous style and crystal clarity . . . the contours of the music are never even blurred, but emerge with a coherence and persuasiveness that is remarkable." The Hamilton Spectator (Canada)

"Michael Jarvis donne ici une interprétation limpide et inspirée..." Répertoire (France)