Bio

Ronald Michael Kilian was born and raised in the Cowichan Valley. At age five, Ron began piano lessons with his father, the late Dr. H.W. (Heinz) Kilian. Heinz was an accomplished pianist, violinist and music scholar as well as an excellent orchestral/choral conductor and vocal coach. He had received an illustrious European musical education; his teachers included the famous German composer Richard Strauss and the legendary French pianist Alfred Cortot. Heinz had been a rising star in the field of operatic conducting in pre war Germany, a career which was interrupted by the outbreak of World War Two during which he was forced to serve in the German Army in Russia. His experiences ultimately caused him to opt for a new life on the west coast of Canada in 1954. Dr. Kilian taught privately on south and central Vancouver Island and in most of the Cowichan Valley’s private schools and later at Malaspina University College School of Music. Dr. Kilian also served as music director of the forerunners of the present day Cowichan Musical Society, Cowichan Consort, Duncan Choral Society, Victoria’s Harmonie Choir and the Vancouver Island Symphony in Nanimo. His good natured enthusiasm and musical expertise drew committed amateur musicians from as far afield as Campbell River and professionals from the Victoria Symphony and C.F.B. Esquimalt’s Naden Band.

His father’s enthusiasm and know how together with mother Rosemarie’s patient tutorial assistance caused Ron to progress rapidly. Less than one year after beginning, Ron entered the Cowichan Music Festival playing Royal Conservatory Grade Four repertoire.

That year Ron was awarded a special prize by well known pianist, teacher, and Banff Center co founder Boris Rubakin for having achieved the highest mark awarded during the 1962 Festival. Together with his sister Dagmar, Ron went on to become one of the most successful participants in the history of this ongoing annual event. Long time devotees of the CMF will recall the exciting “piano duels” between Ron and another highly successful participant – the now famous Jon Kimura ( Jackie ) Parker. These contests were very entertaining and intriguing due to unpredictability of outcome as well as the caliber of playing. The two teens were actually close friends who rode the same bus together every Saturday to their lessons at the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Mr. Parker was then a student at Shawingan Lake School.

At the age of thirteen, Ron began studying advanced piano literature with Dr. Robin Wood . For several decades, Robin, a distinguished Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London England, served as the head of the piano faculty of the University of Victoria and Principal of the Victoria Conservatory of Music. Through these lessons, Ron made contact with the teachings of another world class musician – Robin’s own mentor, Swiss pianist Edwin Fischer. While still a high school student, Ron had successfully learned and performed some of the most demanding music in the piano literature including such works as Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat Major, Opus 83 and Franz Liszt’s epic Sonata in B Minor.

By age twenty it seemed that Ron was ready to enter international competitions and embark on a career as a concert artist. At this time however, he began to experience what is now referred to as “Prodigy Burnout Syndrome” which manifests itself in the inability to produce the quality of work in the quantity expected from a professional concert artist-a malaise which has crippled many promising careers. Subsequently, for a period of several years, Ron got a taste of ordinary down to earth living working in the forest and fishing industries and playing in rock and rhythm and blues bands for fun. This hiatus had the positive effect of his learning to appreciate and work well with people from all walks of life and led to the beginning of a deeper understanding of the human condition which is indispensable to artistic development and which cannot be learned merely from reading and spending hours in a practice room.

When Ron resumed serious study of music, he shifted his career focus from performer to that of teacher with the intent of eventually resurrecting and improving upon his former performance skills. Upon completion of the Victoria Conservatory’s comprehensive teacher training program Ron was awarded a position on the piano faculty. His studies included intensive research into the causes of the all too common burnout which revealed a common flaw in the status quo approach to music education for performers: While the preparation and performance of music is indeed what it’s all about, when this is prioritized at the expense of a thorough, practical and timely grounding in all pertinent musicianship and technical skills disaster will eventually but inevitably strike amateur and aspiring professional alike. One of the most alarming features of this unhappy scenario is that, very often if at all, the problem is not diagnosed and rectified until after the student “hits the wall”, becomes frustrated, looses motivation, self esteem / confidence and quits often in despair thus negating the entire intent of the musical art.

( For an in-depth discussion on this and related problems please see the article under Teaching Philosophy,)

As a result of his personal experience Ron, as an instructor, has made a special mission of ensuring that all his students receive exposure to the information which will give them an optimal chance of realizing their musical dreams and aspirations – whatever they may be.

During his spare time, Ron worked on his playing paying special attention to the issues that had somehow “fallen through the cracks.” during his formative education. Special thanks go to pianist Rena Sharon-former member of theVCM faculty and now Professor of Piano at UBC-who helped identify the problems. Her friendship, expertise and encouragement played a key role in Ron’s successful recovery. Similar thanks are also due to Victoria Symphony’s Bill Linwood and Victoria pianist Cary Chow.

Ron subsequently enrolled in the University of Victoria’s Piano Performance Program graduating first with a Bachelor’s and then a Master’s Degree.

While studying at UVIC Ron worked with pianists Bruce Vogt, Eva Solar Kinderman and occasionally with long time mentor, Robin Wood. Ron took full advantage of the rich musical environment at the University taking on copious amounts of extra curricular work as an accompanist, chamber music collaborator, and rehearsal pianist. He also made himself available to the Composition Department, often performing brand new music written by senior students and faculty members. Through this work, Ron was able to work closely with a large number of UVIC’s performance and academic faculty members thereby gaining invaluable knowledge and experience in a wide variety of performance situations. This led to his sharing the stage with notable professionals on a regular basis while still a student.

Ron was particularly fond of “picking the brains “of visiting world class artists and scholars. One of the most notable among them was the late Gyorgy Sebok, a world renowned pianist and teacher who headed the piano faculty of the University of Indiana at Bloomington which- along with Julliard, Curtis and Peabody- is one of the top music schools in the United States. Ron recalls one particularly illuminating private session with Canadian piano wizard Louis Lortie who shared the profoundly simple and beautiful secrets of his dazzling keyboard technique in an equally beautiful pragmatic down to earth manner.

While still working on his master’s degree, Ron was invited to teach advanced piano as well as a keyboard proficiency course for non pianists at Malaspina University College in Nanimo B.C. He took advantage of the school’s strong jazz environment sharpening his jazz piano skills. He was applauded by then Dean of Fine Arts Ross Fraser for his “fresh, alive, and poignant performances and for raising the standard of student playing to “an unprecedented level”, thereby making “significant contributions” to the school.

In 2000, Ron was invited to Costa Rica for a special teaching assignment. Please see Teaching Experience for details.

Currently, Ron is a freelance performer and teaches privately in his home in Duncan B.C.

He regularly collaborates with local colleagues in various performance and teaching situations.

Extramusical interests include cooking for family and friends, British humour, aviation, psychology, philosophy, and stimulating conversation.

Future plans include the implementation of a recital/chamber music series in the Cowichan Valley and to research the viability of establishing a non profit music school in the area. The mandate of such a school would be to provide local talent with the finest available instruction at an affordable price. Interested parties are invited to contact Ron.