ONLINE: Aeolian Phoenix Sessions Summer Retrospective Series with Andy Cloutier & Dan Luong

Based in London Ontario, Canadian guitarist Andrew Cloutier has been making music professionally since the early 2000s. He studied at Western University in London, with a focus on music theory, composition, and classical guitar performance.

He has received awards and recognitions from the Jack Richardson London music awards, the OMFA provincial music festival, and Western University. He has also participated in masterclasses with world renowned guitarists and composers, including Pepe Romero, Manuel Barrueco, Roland Dyens, the Assad Brothers, and David Russell.

As a performer, his musical interests include the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, music from South America, and works by contemporary composers. In addition, he is an instructor at the London Academy of Music, and the music director at Strathroy United Church in Strathroy Ontario.

Andy performs on a 2009 guitar by Canadian Luthier Bruno Boutin.

For the last few years, Dan Luong has been enriching the musical scene in London, Ontario in a variety of ways which include: pop-up concerts held at Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church where he is the Music and Choir Director, working at the Don Wright Faculty of Music as a Collaborative Pianist and, as well, providing current students and recent graduates with opportunities to perform off-campus. Dan also maintains a busy teaching schedule, working with students of all ages.

Prior to the pandemic, Dan held the staff accompanist position at Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts. During this time, Dan was competing in piano competitions internationally (U.S.A, Italy, Israel, and Japan) and was preparing to tour Canada and Europe in the summer as a member of 2020 National Youth Orchestra.

Dan’s Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees were both received from Western University, where he studied with Prof. John-Paul Bracey, Dr. Brett Kingsbury, and Dr. John Hess. During his time as a student, Dan won numerous prizes and scholarships from the Maritsa Brookes Concerto Competition, London Music Scholarship Foundation, Michael Geryk Memorial Competition, and the Fred Pattison Piano Competition. As the winner of these competitions, Dan has performed solo recitals and concertos with the Western University Symphony Orchestra and the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra.

During the pandemic when many gigs were cancelled, Dan developed new and relevant skills (video editing and audio recording) while continuing to practise the piano. During this time, Dan has been uploading numerous videos of his piano performances with multiple camera angles. He has also posted video recordings of a small virtual choir he started with his church.