Ari Hooker is an exciting up and coming composer and concert pianist from Winnipeg who has garnered many local awards. Ambitious and overflowing with ideas, Ari has already written a large amount of solo piano and chamber music, and in 2024 he debuted with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) performing part of his Piano Concerto in C Major, Op. 5. His latest project was a concert and an album of new chamber music entitled “The Sum of the Parts”, featuring four large scale pieces which he wrote in 2024/25: Piano Quartet in C Minor, Op. 9, Viola Sonata, Op. 11, Violin Sonata, Op. 12, and Cello Sonata, Op. 13. This recording is available to stream on all major platforms. Many of Ari’s scores are available to enjoy and purchase through his website: arihooker.com. 

As a concert pianist, Ari won the top prize at both the Winnipeg Music Festival (2024) and the Women’s Musical Club of Winnipeg’s scholarship competition (2025). Shortly after his debut with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (his Piano Concerto), he was their featured soloist for Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Ari is also a chamber musician and is in demand as a sensitive and solid accompanist. His wide-ranging musical interests span everything from classical performance to popular piano stylings to transcription to constructing electronic music, and he was the keyboard player for the local band, "Training Wheels", whose songs were heard on local radio and can be streamed on Spotify. He recently completed his fourth year as a student of David Moroz at the University of Manitoba.