An impassioned pianist who infuses his performances with emotion, Godwin seems to embody every note he plays, and his sentiment resonates in his listeners. In 2022, he took first place at the OSM Competition (and received the prize for best interpretation of the imposed Canadian work). He also placed first in piano at the National Music Festival (2015), won the Glenn Gould School Concerto Competition (2019), and took second place at the PianoArts North American Competition in Milwaukee (2022).
Godwin frequently returns to play with the very first ensemble to which he belonged – he grew up touring music with his parents and five siblings in the Friesen Family Band. The musical development he experienced during several Canadian tours and three album recordings was profound, and he began formal piano studies around age seven.
His early start playing as a trio with his sister and brother has paid off in the Rilian Trio with Daniel Dastoor and David Liam Roberts, which won first prize, audience prize and best performance of the commissioned work at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition (2023).
Godwin has made a promising start as a composer. He performed his own Prelude and Fugue in A Major in the Virée Classique summer festival in Montreal, which was broadcast by the CBC. His latest composition, Psalm 131 for Piano Trio, will be performed by the Rilians in Canada, Denmark and Norway this year.
Godwin holds a bachelor’s degree and an Artist Diploma from The Glenn Gould School, where he studied with John O’Conor from 2016 to 2022. He is now pursuing a master’s degree at the Université de Montréal as a student of Jean Saulnier and Henry Kramer.