POTSDAM - Acclaimed violinist Adrian Anantawan will discuss how rehabilitation engineering has enabled him to develop into the premier violinist he is today at a Biomedical Engineering Seminar at 4 p.m. Friday in Clarkson University’s CAMP Robert A. Plane Atrium.

The seminar “Moving Music Forward: Adaptation, Evolution and Technology” is sponsored by Clarkson’s Center for Rehabilitation Engineering Science and Technology (CREST) & the Canadian Studies Program.

SUNY Potsdam, in collaboration with Clarkson, will present Anantawan in a performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music. He will also lead a discussion about music education at SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music on Saturday.

Anantawan is a key proponent of the disabled arts, as he was born without a right hand. He is a national spokesperson for the War Amps of Canada, and the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Center. Active within Canadian media, his documentary “Adrian Anantawan: The Story Behind the Notes” is currently being broadcast across the country by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

As an educator, he is currently a faculty member of the National Arts Centre Young Artists Program, teaching in its pre-college division since 2008. Along with pianist Bryan Wagorn, he created the CODA Project, a program aimed at training young musicians (ages 12-18) to implement outreach presentations to the Ottawa community. Active within his community, Adrian helped to create the Virtual Chamber Music Initiative at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab Centre. The cross-collaborative project brings researchers, musicians, doctors and educators together to develop adaptive musical instruments capable of being played by young person with disabilities within a chamber music setting. Currently in its second year, the initiative has helped transform the lives of children with Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Rett Syndrome.

In 2006, he was nominated for a Juno for his work on the children’s album, “A Butterfly in Time” (Marco Polo Records) and is a 2009 inductee into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame. Other honors include winning the Rosemary Kennedy International Competition and the CBC Galaxie Award. He has performed at the Olympic, for the Pope, President and the Dalai Lama.

The seminar is open to the public free of charge. The SUNY Potsdam performance event is free for all SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University students. Tickets are $10 for all SUNY Potsdam or Clarkson employees and seniors, and $15 for the general public.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Community Performance Series Box Office, located in the lobby of the Sara M. Snell Music Theater on the SUNY Potsdam campus, which is open between 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.Monday through Friday. Tickets can also be purchased by calling (315) 267-2277 or visiting at www.cpspotsdam.org.

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