Allison Wiebe Benstead

A leading interpreter of contemporary music, Allison Wiebe is a frequent performer throughout North America and the UK. Currently on the piano performance faculty at Western University in London, Ontario, she maintains an active performing, adjudicating and teaching career. Allison holds a Masters of Music in Piano Literature and Performance from Western University under James Anagnoson. She completed her Bachelor of Music (Honors) at Brandon University in Manitoba studying with Donald Henry and David Rogosin. As a soloist, Ms. Wiebe was a semi-finalist at the 24th annual Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition for the Performance of Canadian Music, receiving a grant from the Canada Council to attend. As a collaborative musician she performs on piano, keyboards, and melodica with the ContaQt ensemble in Toronto. In 2011, Allison recorded a CD of works by Brian Eno which was nominated in 2017 for a Grammy Award for the Best Chamber Performance. The recording of Jordan Nobles music, ‘Undercurrents’ was nominated for a Western Canada Music Award. Her programming has been described by the Globe and Mail as “thought-provoking” and “highly entertaining,” and her performances praised by the New York Times as “methodical and mesmerizing.” In lieu of public performances during the pandemic, ContaQt has been performing/recording online and is back to the recording studio in 2022 for another grammy contender album. A senior piano examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, she also recorded components of the RCM's Celebration Series Perspectives CD project launched over the winter of 2008.