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Michael Bridge is a 21st-century musical maverick—toppling popular expectations of what it is to be a professional accordionist.

“A wizard of the accordion” (CBC), he’s a virtuoso performer—appearing on stages from the “Snowcastle” in Yellowknife, NWT, to The Metropolitan Opera. Equally a master of the digital accordion—a computer shaped like an accordion—Bridge’s concerts capture both the energy and panache of stadium rock with the elegance and discipline of chamber music.

It all began when Bridge was five, growing up in Calgary. His mom bought him a $5 accordion at a garage sale and Michael was hooked. Since then, he’s won numerous awards in Canada and abroad, including the 2024 Canada Council Virginia Parker Prize—the country’s highest honour for young musicians.

Dr. Bridge received his DMA in accordion performance from the University of Toronto in 2023, studying with Prof. Joseph Macerollo (the first Canadian to do so), and he was a Rebanks Fellow at the Glenn Gould School. He gives 90+ concerts annually as a soloist, member of Bridge & Wolak and Ladom Ensemble, and with his partner, violinist Yolanda Bruno. He gives lectures and masterclasses at North American and European conservatories, and he teaches Music Business at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Bridge embraces a musical aesthetic that is alternatively irreverent, deadly serious, meticulously prepared, and completely in-the-moment. He’s at home with classical, contemporary, jazz, and folk music, and has premiered over 60 new works.

Ultimately, he aims to make your world more bearable, beautiful, and human—even if only for the length of a concert.

www.michaelbridge.ca

Photos by TorontoOnTop.

Instrument: Pigini Nova No. 002