Ian Bent

Through his over fourteen-year career as a pianist, composer, arranger, and producer in Nova Scotia, Ian Bent has established a reputation as a versatile musician who is dedicated to artistic excellence. Bent, who holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance from the University of Montreal, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Dalhousie University, has performed with dozens of musical projects in a wide range of styles, has toured across Canada and in the United States, and has contributed to nearly 20 commercially-released recordings produced in the province.

A versatile composer, Ian has written scores both for film and for the recital hall. His composition, “Old Moon” was nominated for the 2017 East Coast Music Award for “Classical Composition of the Year”. The song was commissioned by Canadian soprano Allison Angelo and is featured on her debut recording Moon Loves Its Light (2015), also nominated for this year’s ECMA for “Classical Recording of the Year”.  In 2013, Ian served as composer and music supervisor for the Toronto indie feature film Unhappy Happy (directed by Rob Shaw; winner of Best Micro-Budget Feature, Toronto Independent Film Festival and Best Canadian Film, Queens World Film Festival).

Ian Bent is also a member of the Halifax dream-pop duo Alana Yorke. Their debut album Dream Magic (mixed by Arcade Fire’s engineer Mark Lawson) was released worldwide on Paper Bag Records in 2015, and was nominated for two ECMAs and four Music Nova Scotia Awards. Bent served as co-producer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, and co-writer on the album and he currently tours with the project. With his former indie rock band, Caledonia, Ian has toured across Canada and in the United States, packing venues in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

In September 2016 Ian Bent was awarded the newly established position of Musician-in-Residence at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Halifax. The residency was created with the aim of 1) enhancing the vibrant musical life of the church through special liturgical music, 2) fostering the artistic development of the resident by supplying a place to teach and compose, and 3) promoting artistic outreach by attracting new visitors to the historic church through a program of public musical events (recitals, free noon-hour concerts, and feature concerts).  Bent is thrilled with this new role within the dynamic and welcoming community at St. Paul’s, and is excited to make the most of this opportunity.

For more information on Ian, visit ianbent.com