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At the age of five, Canadian born cellist Blair Lofgren began his musical studies in the city of Regina with Barbara Fitzpatrick. He went on to study with cellist Cameron Lowe, under whom he had much success competing and winning in regional, provincial and national competitions. In the spring of 1996 he initiated a series of concerts playing the Boccherini Concerto in Bb+ with the Musica Viva Chamber Ensemble and the Regina Symphony Chamber Players, culminating in a performance with the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra at the Banff International Festival. Upon completion of his studies at the Regina Conservatory of Music, Bair was awarded the prestigious President's Gold Medal for most outstanding student, as well as the W.A. Riddell String Scholarship.
In the following four years, Blair continued his studies at the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto, under the tutelage of Thomas Wiebe and John Kadz. Throughout this period, Blair worked with visiting artists such as Timothy Eddy, Laurence Lesser, Desmond Hoebig and Paul Katz. Additionally, he studied chamber music with Lorand Fenyves, William Preucil, Leon Fleisher and the Duke Trio. In his final year at the GGS, Blair won the school's concerto competition, thus performing the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Royal Conservatory Orchestra at the Glenn Gould CBC Studio in Toronto.
Upon completing his studies at the Glenn Gould School of Music, at the age of 24, Blair Lofgren became the youngest principal cellist of any professional symphony orchestra in Canada. Since winning the post of principal cello of the Quebec Symphony Orchestra (OSQ) under the direction of Maestro Yoav Talmi, Lofgren has continued to develop his career both as an active chamber musician and as a soloist performing in many recitals and chamber music series. Recent engagements include playing Elegie by Gabriel Faure with the OSQ during the Tour de Ville series of autumn 2003, leading the OSQ cello section in a sold out concert of unique ensemble music at the Musee de Quebec, as well as performing for various live broadcasts of chamber music concerts for la chaine culturelle on Radio-Canada.
Lofgren's strength lies in the breadth of his musical expression. Richard Boisvert, music critic for Le Soleil, notes the depth of Lofgren's playing during a performance of Brahm's Second Piano Concerto with pianist Andre Laplante: " The third movement .... was an occasion to hear the round sonority, warmth and in tune playing of Blair Lofgren. The two of them, Laplante and Lofgren offered one of the most satisfying moments of the concert, an incomparable moment of peace and sweetness. May chamber music be blessed! "
Most recently, Blair Lofgren was featured as the solo cellist on composer Oleksa Lozowchuk's debut chamber music album "Bright Sadness". The work has been broadcast nationally several times on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada, and has already received much critical acclaim. Written for solo cello, string quartet, contrabass, tenor sopilka and mixed voices, the work features Lofgren's rich and textured tone, as well as his adept technical skills. British Conductor Simon Streatfeild described Lofgren's interpretation as "...full of colour and imagination....extremely well-played...with great authority." Ivan Moody, composer and reviewer for Gramaphone and the International Record Review, described Lofgren as "....a tremendous player."
Blair Lofgren's engagements for 2004 included: the world premiere of Bright Sadness in Montreal and Quebec City with the Quatuor Cartier; as well as several performances at the Scotia Festival of Music with such artists as Andy Dawes, Mark Fewer, Marc-Andre Hamelin and Joel Quarington where he was invited as guest artist and professor of cello and chamber music. He also performed the Brahms Double Concerto with Darren Lowe and the Sherbrooke Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Stephane Laforest , as well as a duo with world famous fiddler and violinist Mark O’ Connor.
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