Gerald Stanick

Stanick, Gerald

Gerald Stanick. Violist, teacher, administrator, b Winnipeg 9 Nov 1933. He studied in Winnipeg with John Konrad and Richard Seaborn and at the University of Indiana with David Dawson. He was principal viola 1958-63 of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the CBC Winnipeg Orchestra and was a founding member, with Lea Foli and Claude Kenneson, of the Corydon Trio (fl 1959-62). He taught in Winnipeg (where his pupils included Rennie Regehr) and 1963-8 at the University of Wisconsin at Madison (where James Creitz was his pupil). As a member of the Fine Arts Quartet, Stanick toured in many countries and recorded Courtly Music of Mendelssohn (ca 1965, 3-Concert-Disc SP-505), Mozart's Quartets K428, K575, K589, K590 (ca 1965, 3-Concert-Disc SP-504) and the Debussy and Ravel string quartets (ca 1968, Concert-Disc CS-253). In 1971 he was a member of the ensemble on a recording of Blank's Esther's Monologue (Orion ORS-75169). He was music director 1968-74 of the Wisconsin College-Cons in Milwaukee and head of the string department 1974-7 at the University of Victoria (BC), prior to joining the music faculty of the University of Western Ontario, where he taught viola and chamber music 1974-80 and where Quartet Canada, of which he was a founding member, was quartet-in-residence 1977-81. In 1980 Stanick moved to Vancouver, where he and his wife, Mary, assumed the operation of the Vancouver Violin Shop (begun by Stanick's father, Bernard, in the mid-1970s), through which he has promoted the work of modern string instrument makers. In Vancouver Stanick has taught privately and, beginning in 1982, at the University of British Columbia. Stanick has remained active as a chamber musician, has given masterclasses at the Banff CA, the Courtenay Youth Music Centre, the Johannessen International School of the Arts, Camp musical du Domaine ForgetCamp, and has been a visiting professor at several US universities. Among his pupils have been Neal Gripp, Douglas McNabney, and Leslie Robertson. Besides performing regularly and widely as a chamber musician Stanick has appeared as a soloist with many Canadian and US orchestras.

See also Discography for Quartet Canada.