Mr. Fridman has earned two Master’s degrees—one in piano performance and one in opera direction—from the world-renowned St. Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia. Prior to this he received a bachelor from the Kyiv (Ukraine) Music College.

Joseph is a concert pianist, teacher, vocal coach, and accompanist, performing in both solo and chamber recitals, and has been frequently broadcast on CBC Radio. Mr. Fridman has taught at the Schools for Musically Gifted Children in

St. Petersburg and Kiev, as well as the Pskov Music College, and has performed with the St. Petersburg and Pskov Philharmonics and Orchestras. In Canada, he has served on the faculty of the Alberta College Conservatory of Music and the University of Alberta. He has also worked as a repetiteur and diction coach at Opera Nuova and Edmonton Opera, and, together with his wife Tanya, served as performer, producer, and stage director for Musical Encounters, a children’s concert series that blended instrumental and vocal music with theatre, puppetry, and visual art.

Mr. Fridman lectures, and gives masterclasses and workshops throughout Canada, Ukraine, Russia, and the United States. He has taught at several summer schools, including “Strings and Keys” (Bergen), Alberta College International Music Academy (Edmonton), “Vivo!” (Edmonton) and has served as a clinician at the CASSA Summer School (Calgary). He has adjudicated numerous festivals and competitions, including the prestigious Canadian Music Competition (CMC) and Seattle Young Artists Music Festival (SYAMFA).

Mr. Fridman is a co-founder and co-director of the Alberta Music Academy, where he currently teaches. His piano students have achieved first-class honors and medals in RCM and Conservatory Canada examinations and have won first and second prizes in the Kiwanis Festival, Fall Festival, and Northern Alberta Concerto Competition. Many of his students have gone on to continue their studies at prestigious institutions such as McGill University, University of Toronto, and the Juilliard School.