Hundreds of violists from around the world recently gathered in Paris to share and deepen their passion for the viola. Among them, faculty and students from Western.
Don Wright Faculty of Music students Emily Hiemstra, Cian Diamond and Lincoln St. John, along with viola professor Sharon Wei, performed at the 50th International Viola Congress, which featured a series of concerts, workshops and masterclasses.
The Western quartet earned their spot on the program following Wei’s successful response to a global call for applications.
Sharon Wei (Christopher Kindratsky/Western Communications)
“I wanted to give my students an experience they hadn’t had before,” said Wei, one of Canada’s most respected violists and a past Western Faculty Scholar Award recipient. “I saw this as an amazing opportunity for them to be exposed to many new ideas, meet other students from around the world and perform in front of their peers.”
Wei and her students presented Sounding Tornadoes, a lecture recital extending the work she leads in collaboration with Western’s Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP). The interdisciplinary initiative showcases music inspired by NTP data, and other nature-inspired pieces, to inspire hope.
“Scientists are great problem-solvers who offer solutions that can be incorporated into our everyday life,” said Wei. “As musicians, our goal is for the audience to learn about their work and to know there is something they can do in response to climate change.”
World premiere of student composition at 50th International Viola Congress
The Western ensemble’s performance featured two works written by Hiemstra, a master of music composition student and Juno-nominated artist.
The first, Didsbury for Viola Quartet, commissioned by the NTP, was inspired by one of the strongest tornadoes in Alberta.
Emily Hiemstra (Esther Lee Hollywood)
“I was beyond thrilled that this was the sixth-plus time Didsbury was performed,” Hiemstra said. “Knowing this work is starting to take on a life of its own is one of the most satisfying parts of being a composer.”
Also gratifying, Hiemstra said, was closing the program with the world premiere of her latest composition, La Malbaie.
A second movement to Didsbury, the piece focuses on water, with Hiemstra now building on her original work, exploring the four elements of wind, water, fire and earth.
“As a composer, it’s an honour and a privilege any time your music is performed. Doubly so, to be the one premiering it – and in such an iconic city as Paris,” Hiemstra said. “It’s always thrilling to premiere a new piece and to work through the rehearsal process for the first time and see how the audience responds.”
Wei said feedback on the entire recital was positive.
“Violists approached Emily wanting to acquire her music, and I had scholars asking how they could establish similar interdisciplinary collaborations at their own universities,” Wei said.
Cian Diamond (Alexia Hlynialuk/Western Music)
Other climate-related works in the Western program included Métis and French Canadian composer Ian Cusson’s piece for solo viola La Pieta (after Monkman). It was performed by Diamond, a second-year viola student, who met Cusson during an undergraduate summer research internship studying viola repertoire themed on water.
“Performing La Pieta (after Monkman) in Paris was such a joy, especially having had the chance earlier in the year to work with the composer and integrate his feedback into my interpretation,” Diamond said. “Many audience members were fellow Canadians whose programs were also climate-related, so it was really lovely to see how topics from one presentation resurfaced in another.”
The recital also featured score-stories with audio examples from three string quartets inspired by the NTP and excerpts from … Then the sky was amber by Iranian Canadian composer Saman Shahni, a concerto Wei is premiering with Ensemble Obiora in Montreal Jan. 31.
Outside of the Western quartet, violinist and Don Wright Faculty of Music professor Annette-Barbara Vogel also performed at the congress, accompanied by pianist and professor Brett Kingsbury.
Connecting with violists from around the world
Lincoln St. John (Bryan Nelson/London Symphonia)
Throughout the five-day congress, the Western group took part in a variety of events where they connected with other students, scholars and internationally acclaimed performers. They enjoyed music from North and South America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia.
St. John, a first-year viola student pursuing a double degree in business and music, called the experience an “incredible opportunity.”
“The congress was a great place to connect with other violists my age from around the world, hear and try out rare instruments and experience different musical styles and interpretations from beyond North America,” St. John said. “Being able to watch, meet and learn from outstanding violists I’ve admired for years has really strengthened my passion for music and continues to motivate me to keep pushing myself.”
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