Duo Avante
Todd Yaniw & Petya Stavreva, piano
Sunday, May 3, 2026 - 3:00 pm
St. Albert United Church
Todd Yaniw is a Canadian pianist praised for his “atmospheric contrast of poetry and power…a hair-raising performance”. Since his debut with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra at age 13, Mr. Yaniw has performed across Canada; at festivals and venues including CBC Vancouver, the Banff Centre for Music, Edmonton’s Winspear Centre for Music, the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, the Festival of the Sound in Parry Sound, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre, and Koerner Hall. Mr. Yaniw has performed concerti with several Canadian orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and has performed with the Afiara Quartet, Rolston String Quartet, Trio Arkel, the High Level Trio, and the ARC Ensemble (Artists of the Royal Conservatory). Todd has been interviewed and broadcast on many occasions on CBC Radio, and was featured in CBC's "30 under 30" list. Internationally, Todd has performed in Bulgaria, China, Italy, Jamaica, Monaco, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Mr. Yaniw has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, and twice was a recipient of the Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Awards. He was on the performance staff at The Glenn Gould School, and served on the faculty of The Phil and Eli Taylor Performance Academy for Young Artists.
Todd Yaniw recently returned to his hometown of Edmonton. His teachers include Michael Massey, Dr. James Parker, Professor James Anagnoson (The Glenn Gould School), and Dr. Jon Kimura Parker (Rice University). Mr. Yaniw completed his doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin, where he worked with Dr. Anton Nel.
Praised for expressing "ultra-sensitive and highly refined pianism" (Quinte Society for Chamber Music), pianist Petya Stavreva holds a Doctorate degree in Musical Arts from Western University.
Dr. Stavreva recently relocated to St. Albert with her husband Todd Yaniw, and is working to further develop the Avante Piano Studio both online and in-person. She is especially passionate about reaching students in remote areas through high quality online lessons, and has been doing so since 2020. Petya was previously based in Toronto for 20 years, where her students have continuously succeeded in festivals and competitions. In 2023, two of her students were awarded 1st place at the RCM's "Music Lights the Way" festival.
She served as a Program Director of the Quinte Society for Chamber Music concert series in 2023, and is currently the President of the St. Albert Piano Teachers' Association, as well as a recently admitted RCM examiner.
Petya has been a prize winner of numerous competitions in Canada and Europe such as the international competition “Franz Schubert” in Rousse, international competition “Music and Earth” in Sofia, among many others, and has performed concertos with the Toronto Sinfonietta Orchestra. She has played concerts throughout Canada but also internationally, including in the US, France, Italy and Bulgaria.While in Ontario, Petya has frequently collaborated with cellist Amahl Arulanandam (of VC2) for concerts and recordings.
Petya is a sought-after adjudicator for piano competitions and festivals such as Kiwanis Festivals in: Toronto, Ottawa, Peterborough, Pickering, Brantford, Oshawa, Kingston, Temiskaming Shores, Stratford, Markham, Fort St. John and the Provincial Ontario Festival, among others.
In 2020 and 2021, Petya collaborated with violinist Marie Berard (the concertmaster of the Canadian Opera Company) for the official recordings of the new RCM Celebration Series books.
Prior to her doctorate at Western University, she finished her master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin, receiving full scholarship and grant support from Canada Arts Council, as well as the Webb Trust Fund at the Glenn Gould School. She obtained an Artist Diploma on full scholarship from the Glenn Gould School, and a bachelor's degree in performance from the University of Toronto. Petya was an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre for ten weeks in 2012.
Back in 2003 shortly after moving to Canada, Petya also attended the Taylor Performance Academy at the RCM in Toronto with full scholarship. She has been very fortunate to study with a variety of teachers including Leslie Kinton, Anton Nel, James Anagnoson, Jamie Parker, Marietta Orlov and Arshalouis Nersessian. While in Austin, Petya also studied collaborative piano in addition to her solo degree, with Anne Epperson.