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Surinder
Mundra
Surinder
began his musical career at the age of nine, although not on
the organ but, on the piano. He made his first recital debut
very shortly after, and his first orchestral debut three years
later with the Durham Symphony Orchestra performing Tchaikovsky’s
First piano Concerto.
He has played on numerous occasions at Roy Thompson Hall, and has done
many fundraising concerts for the Toronto General Hospital, for congenital
heart research. He continues to perfect his craft on the piano. He
came to discover the organ when he was seventeen. He had coincidentally
dropped by a church to attend Mass and recognized the priest to be
his high school English teacher. The organist who regularly played
for the mass was sick, and the Father had asked Surinder if he could
play the organ. Smugly, Surinder said yes thinking it would be not
all that different from the piano, while having no previous experience
playing the organ. The Mass went on with a few glitches in the music,
leaving Surinder somewhat humbled but determined to learn the organ
properly.
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He
started purchasing organ music of Fux, Bach, Sweelinck, Buxtehude,
and Handel. Essentially, a self taught organist, he diligently
practiced and became more familiar with the great instrument.
At nineteen, he began his post as organist at St. Patrick’s
Roman Catholic Church. He has continued that post, and has given
numerous organ concerts yearly with money being raised towards
the purchase of a new Organ. Most recently, he has started a
Gregorian Chant Schola at St. Pat’s, the only one in the
Metro region specializing in Gregorian chant performance and
early polyphonic Music in its Liturgical context. He is organist
at a number of other churches, and teaches, while performing
at various venues on both the organ and piano.
www.surindermundra.com
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