Lawrence Pitchko

[2][3] At the age of 19 he was invited to study with Kenneth van Barthold in London, England, and enrolled in The Piano Workshop course given by him as part of the International Summer School at the University of Edinburgh.

[15] In 1981, after his return to Canada, Lawrence received the du Maurier Merit Award[16] and began to re-establish his career in his home country.

The Serenata Trio, of which he was a founding member along with soprano Valerie Siren, and clarinetist Patricia Wait, played their debut concert in the venue in 1985.

The trio also inaugurated the newly built multipurpose auditorium at the Toronto Centre YMCA in 1986 as part of the Syrinx Concert series.

By the year 2000, Pitchko was teaching and mentoring advanced students of all ages, among them David Lee[23] and Ricker Choi, and presenting them in various venues around the city including Walter Hall and as part of the Orchardviewers Series at the Northern District Library in Toronto.