Arthur Rowe is the Artistic Director of the Victoria Summer Music Festival. Previously a faculty member at the University of Iowa and at Western University, Arthur Rowe joined the University of Victoria in 1992 as Professor of Piano. A Steinway Artist, he has enjoyed a performing career spanning five decades as a critically acclaimed recitalist, soloist with orchestra, and chamber musician.

Following a New York solo recital, The New York Times wrote: “The Canadian pianist Arthur Rowe made an immediate and positive impression . . . before eight bars had gone by, one knew he was capable of vigour without heaviness, energy without excess of drive. It was first-rate playing: a kind of execution tinglingly alive to the shape and contribution of each phrase.” In 2007, the Centaur label released an all-Schubert recording by Arthur Rowe. Fanfare magazine’s review says, “Rowe’s reading (of the posthumous B-flat Sonata) is one of the most beautiful I have heard. . . . The D.899 Impromptus are equally impressive . . . his purling right-hand runs recall Schnabel’s velvety sound . . . every harmonic change is underscored by a delicate nuance of color change. This kind of expression cannot be taught; it is in the bloodstream and the soul.”

Arthur Rowe has recorded with various artists for the Crystal, ebs, Innova, GM and Fanfare labels. A highly respected chamber musician, he has performed widely throughout North America.

As Artistic Director of both the Victoria Summer Music Festival and The Jeffery Concerts in London, Ontario, Arthur Rowe enjoys the opportunity to present both world-renowned artists and exceptional young artists to audiences in these communities.