An Evening with David Braid
A fundraiser event benefitting the Airdrie Rotary Performing Arts Festival
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Venue: The Polaris Theatre
Sponsor: Steinway Piano Gallery Calgary
Doors Open at 6:30
Cocktails 6:30-7:30pm
Refreshments graciously provided by Steinway Calgary
Cash Bar
Private Concert 7:30pm
Acclaimed in the Canadian Press as "one of Canada's true Renaissance men,” David Braid is a distinguished composer, improviser, and pianist. He is a ten-time nominee and four-time recipient of Canada’s highest music honour, the Juno Award.
A Steinway Artist, Braid serves as Composer-in-Residence for the Sinfonia UK Collective. He is also a Guest Artist at the Danish National Music Conservatory and an Affiliate Artist at the University of Liverpool’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Composition and Technology.
Braid first emerged as an "Ace Jazz Pianist," according to The New York Observer, before transitioning into composing chamber music. His work is characterized by its narrative quality, vibrant colours, rhythmic complexity, spontaneity, and the integration of diverse musical languages, a result of over twenty years of international cross-cultural collaboration.
He has performed extensively across the UK, Scandinavia, Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, Australia, Brazil, and Canada. His original music has been described as "brilliant" by the Montreal Gazette, "full of substance" by Pizzicato Magazine, "enchanting" by The Age in Australia, and "hauntingly beautiful" by The Globe & Mail.
Braid's first instrumental chamber music album, FLOW, released under the Steinway & Sons label in collaboration with the Epoque Quartet (Prague), was praised by the Los Angeles Examiner as “an exceptional work... created with patience, love, and an understanding of the human condition, form, and structure.” His first choral composition, “Corona Divinae Misericordiae,” was nominated for Classical Album of the Year in Canada.
Additionally, his first film score won two Canadian Screen Awards for “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song.”Braid's brief foray into dramatic music includes arrangements and compositions for the Chet Baker-inspired biopic, Born to Be Blue, starring Ethan Hawke, which The Telegraph (UK) places as one of the top jazz films of all time. His jazz score received acclaim for its "contemporary patina without sacrificing period authenticity,” as noted by The Times (UK).
He also received a Screen Award nomination for his orchestral score for the 2022 film Delia’s Gone, featuring Stephan James and Marisa Tomei.In recognition of his exceptional contributions to music, David Braid received the prestigious Paul de Hueck and Norman Walford Career Achievement Award for Keyboard Artistry from the Ontario Foundation for the Arts. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself as one of a few creative artists capable of engaging audiences in both classical and jazz communities.
His chamber music compositions for notable ensembles resonate with diverse audiences, transcending traditional genre boundaries without compromising the integrity of classical music.Beyond his performances, Braid supports emerging musicians by leading innovative workshops and masterclasses designed to empower students, reinforce their musical fundamentals, and encourage authentic innovation over superficial creativity.
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