Stephen McHolm

Stephen McHolm joined The Esther Honens International Piano Competition Foundation (Honens) in 1998 as Artistic Administrator. He has been Executive Director since 2004. McHolm studied piano from an early age, but his love of music led him to the field of arts administration. Within two years of becoming Executive Director, he moved Honens from a deficit situation to a sustainable operations model, while expanding its activities to support, produce and present more than 100 events in Calgary, across Canada and around the world each year. Honens is now firmly established as “Canada’s International Piano Competition” and is Calgary’s most far-reaching arts organization. Honens’ international profile continues to grow under McHolm’s leadership, with commissions, premieres, and international concert dates – including debuts by Honens Competition Laureates in international markets including New York, London and Berlin.

McHolm received a degree from the University of Ottawa where he studied arts funding policies and the rise of corporate sponsorship in the early 1990s. After graduation he became a research assistant for the International Comparative Policy Group of Canadian Heritage. Before joining Honens, he was Programs Coordinator for the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (CAPACOA), a national service organization for the performing arts' presenting and touring sector, for which has also served as a Board Director.

Today McHolm is Vice President of the World Federation of International Music Competitions, based in Geneva. He was named one of Calgary’s ‘Top 40 under 40’ in 2002 by Calgary Inc. Magazine and strangely attempts to balance his busy schedule with triathlons each summer.