WEBVTT 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:20.399 Hi there and welcome to Notes from the Stage, 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:22.420 a show from the musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic. 00:00:22.660 --> 00:00:24.140 We're the people playing our hearts out every 00:00:24.140 --> 00:00:27.000 week of the orchestra season. I'm Adam Zinatelli. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:29.140 Usually I play first trumpet in the Calgary Philharmonic, 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:31.339 but today I'm your host and I'm here with Maria 00:00:31.339 --> 00:00:33.659 Vandersloot, section first violinist in the orchestra 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:36.320 and star, one of the star players, they're all 00:00:36.320 --> 00:00:38.859 star players in Calgary's own critically acclaimed 00:00:38.859 --> 00:00:41.420 Lands End Ensemble. Hi Maria. Hi Adam. Thank 00:00:41.420 --> 00:00:43.100 you so much for having me. How are you coping 00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:45.560 with the adjustment back to being at work? Pretty 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:49.399 well. I mean, every year, it's always a bit of, 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:52.679 how can I put this, a shock when you come back 00:00:52.679 --> 00:00:55.500 to work after a whole summer off. Exactly. My 00:00:55.500 --> 00:00:57.679 thoughts, exactly. And by off, of course, we 00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:00.640 mean unemployed and free to do whatever we want 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:02.840 with our time, I suppose, work or otherwise. 00:01:03.140 --> 00:01:05.980 Mm -hmm. Yeah. You know, but it's also exciting 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:08.480 in a way because I find that by the end of the 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:11.140 season, I'm usually really tired and you know 00:01:11.140 --> 00:01:13.140 you're artistically a little bit drained and 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:15.680 then the summer you do other projects or you 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:18.079 just take time off you travel whatnot and then 00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:20.120 when you come back you feel refreshed and ready 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.120 to go again yeah absolutely absolutely maria 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:24.780 you're one of the few musicians in the orchestra 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:27.299 who is from calgary you're a hometown player 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:29.920 in your hometown orchestra actually i have to 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:32.500 correct you i am sorry sorry to correct you oh 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:34.760 that's okay um i'm actually from medicine hat 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:38.640 oh i'm sorry very important distinction i'm I'm 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:40.459 sorry that I'm guilty of medicine hat erasure. 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:42.939 It's OK. We're here. We're here to set the record 00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:45.500 straight. Yeah. Notes from the stage. Yeah. Setting 00:01:45.500 --> 00:01:47.359 the record straight. I was born in medicine hat. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.159 I did move to Calgary when I was six. So, you 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:53.599 know, for all intents and purposes, I am Calgarian. 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:56.120 But when in Alberta, I have to specify medicine 00:01:56.120 --> 00:01:59.200 hat. So not many people in our industry get to 00:01:59.200 --> 00:02:02.060 work, you know, at home or close to home like 00:02:02.060 --> 00:02:05.359 you are. And your family has deep, deep musical 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:07.269 roots. in this part of the world. Can you tell 00:02:07.269 --> 00:02:10.870 us about that? Sure. Well, I suppose it all comes 00:02:10.870 --> 00:02:13.629 back to my grandma, who I have to thank for the 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:16.310 fact that I play violin today. My grandma Helen 00:02:16.310 --> 00:02:19.069 was a force of nature and she had 10 kids and 00:02:19.069 --> 00:02:21.550 insisted that all of them learn an instrument 00:02:21.550 --> 00:02:24.669 and learn it well. And I want to say about half 00:02:24.669 --> 00:02:27.750 of them are now professional musicians. My dad 00:02:27.750 --> 00:02:29.969 included, he's a violinist and he actually taught 00:02:29.969 --> 00:02:32.490 me when I was growing up. He taught me the violin. 00:02:32.689 --> 00:02:36.400 My mom is also a violinist and Yeah, so growing 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:39.099 up in a musical family, it just didn't feel like 00:02:39.099 --> 00:02:42.680 an odd or unusual or even, to be honest, special 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:44.759 thing to do. To be a musician, it just was kind 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:47.740 of part of our, I don't know, our whole culture 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:50.879 and how we lived life. And it was a matter of 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:52.819 not, do you want to play an instrument? It was 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:55.539 choose which instrument. Yeah. So coming from 00:02:55.539 --> 00:02:58.240 a musical family, like you were saying, it must 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:01.580 be a bit of a different look at things now because 00:03:01.580 --> 00:03:05.610 big news, Maria got engaged. Woohoo! And your 00:03:05.610 --> 00:03:09.750 fiance is not a musician. No. So what's that 00:03:09.750 --> 00:03:13.030 been like? Yeah, good question. It's been actually 00:03:13.030 --> 00:03:16.210 really eye -opening in a very good way. Yeah, 00:03:16.210 --> 00:03:18.270 many of the things that I sort of take for granted 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:21.550 as a musician are really new to my fiance. Before 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:23.870 we met, he'd actually never been to an orchestra 00:03:23.870 --> 00:03:26.590 concert or a classical music concert in his life. 00:03:26.889 --> 00:03:29.050 And when we met, it was interesting because he 00:03:29.050 --> 00:03:31.129 had all these questions like, what do I do if 00:03:31.129 --> 00:03:33.090 people are clapping in between the movements? 00:03:33.879 --> 00:03:36.500 You know, why are you always looking at, you 00:03:36.500 --> 00:03:38.840 know, Diana or at the conductor and how do all 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:40.919 these various things work? You know, let me just 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:43.039 pause there for a second. This is this show is 00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:46.020 for a general audience, right? So I'm really 00:03:46.020 --> 00:03:48.560 curious. How how did you answer those questions? 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:51.800 It's a bit controversial, I think about the clapping 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:54.879 between movements. I personally feel that if 00:03:54.879 --> 00:03:57.539 the spirit moves you, you should just clap if 00:03:57.539 --> 00:03:59.740 you're really excited. But. there are those moments, 00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:02.219 too, where there's sort of this palpable tension 00:04:02.219 --> 00:04:04.960 in the air after, you know, a really exciting 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:07.860 moment or the end of a slow movement where you 00:04:07.860 --> 00:04:09.879 want to preserve that silence. So I would say, 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:12.020 you know, you got to kind of use your intuition. 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:14.960 Yeah, read the room. Yeah, read the room. Exactly. 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:17.959 You know, some specific questions like why are 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:21.339 all the violinists staring at Diana? And, you 00:04:21.339 --> 00:04:22.939 know, that's so that we can follow her so we 00:04:22.939 --> 00:04:24.920 can make sure that we're playing in the same 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:26.720 part of the bow, that we're changing at the right 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:29.879 time. Because, you know, from that center stage 00:04:29.879 --> 00:04:32.379 where she is, where she's right by the conductor, 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.939 you move backwards chair by chair, and it's almost 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:38.279 like the game of telephone, where things can 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:41.639 really devolve by the end. So if you're at the 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:43.579 back, you want to be looking way up ahead so 00:04:43.579 --> 00:04:46.160 that you can stay together and know exactly what's 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:50.240 going on. For sure. Sound travels fast, but when 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:52.300 it comes to an orchestra on stage, the distances 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.810 really matter. Yep, in a way that I think would 00:04:55.810 --> 00:04:57.709 be surprising to anyone who hasn't done it, right? 00:04:57.709 --> 00:05:00.790 Like I'm sitting at the back of the stage and 00:05:00.790 --> 00:05:03.589 the way I hear and can react to things happening 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:06.050 at the front is really different. And when two 00:05:06.050 --> 00:05:08.350 people are far apart, each sounds delayed to 00:05:08.350 --> 00:05:12.730 the other. So the visual aspect of playing together 00:05:12.730 --> 00:05:15.430 is really important. And it's the whole thing. 00:05:15.769 --> 00:05:18.389 It's like it shouldn't really work. Right. You 00:05:18.389 --> 00:05:20.899 know, like from the percussion in the back corner 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:22.920 of the stage to the back of the first violins 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:24.720 in the far corner of the stage like that's a 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:27.800 long way that's milliseconds and milliseconds 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:31.680 apart sonically right so how do you play so that 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:34.639 it comes across together and unified to the audience 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:38.149 it's a it's a real magic trick Yeah, and it's 00:05:38.149 --> 00:05:40.550 sometimes this illusion where, yeah, you think 00:05:40.550 --> 00:05:42.449 you hear something and you think, oh, I must 00:05:42.449 --> 00:05:45.449 be, I must need to play at this moment based 00:05:45.449 --> 00:05:47.230 on what I hear. And then you look up and you 00:05:47.230 --> 00:05:51.610 go, oh my gosh, nope, not even close. Yeah. So 00:05:51.610 --> 00:05:53.930 when you were a kid, you know, I assumed that 00:05:53.930 --> 00:05:55.990 a lot of your siblings played violins. Did you 00:05:55.990 --> 00:05:58.629 all play violin or did some play other instruments 00:05:58.629 --> 00:06:02.790 too? No, actually, not by design, but in a weird 00:06:02.790 --> 00:06:04.949 twist of fate, all of my brothers play the cello. 00:06:04.990 --> 00:06:07.730 Okay. Yep. So you didn't have to fight over like 00:06:07.730 --> 00:06:10.509 the best violin or anything like that? No, it 00:06:10.509 --> 00:06:13.410 was really actual actually sort of serendipitous. 00:06:13.410 --> 00:06:15.970 I got very lucky that I I just, you know, got 00:06:15.970 --> 00:06:19.470 to play the violin is a special instrument. It's 00:06:19.470 --> 00:06:23.430 my mom's violin. Oh, wow. Mm hmm. I play on my 00:06:23.430 --> 00:06:26.589 mom's violin and my dad's bow. Wow. Oh, that's 00:06:26.589 --> 00:06:31.029 so lovely. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's it feels special. 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:34.339 So my mom's violin, it's a, dare I say, it's 00:06:34.339 --> 00:06:38.420 a French violin from, I believe, 1855 or 1856. 00:06:38.439 --> 00:06:42.019 I should really know this better. But it won 00:06:42.019 --> 00:06:45.259 an award. It won the gold at the World Expo in 00:06:45.259 --> 00:06:48.379 Berlin. And then it was bought, I think, into 00:06:48.379 --> 00:06:52.360 a private collection. And it just sat there for 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.800 many years. Like, do you think it was unplayed 00:06:54.800 --> 00:06:57.240 mostly in that time? Yep. Wow. Yep. Unplayed. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:01.980 And then my, my data, my, my mom's dad, he bought 00:07:01.980 --> 00:07:05.579 it for my mom as a, you know, family gift. So 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:07.819 she was really the first person to play it, I 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:11.040 believe kind of full time. And then, you know, 00:07:11.240 --> 00:07:14.079 she, um, ended up moving away from performing 00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:16.800 more into teaching and, you know, raising a family 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:19.439 and one of five kids. So it was pretty busy. 00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:21.120 Yep. So she wasn't playing as much. And then 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:23.420 when the time came and she said, you can play 00:07:23.420 --> 00:07:26.240 on it. So, yeah, so it's pretty cool. It looks 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:29.360 like a new violin because. Well, all of the scratches 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:34.740 on it are because of me. Yeah. So I try to be 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:36.680 really careful with it, especially knowing that 00:07:36.680 --> 00:07:39.560 I can't blame it on a previous owner if something 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:42.439 happens to it. Yeah. So it's sort of a baby in 00:07:42.439 --> 00:07:44.800 a way. And at the same time, it's also very old. 00:07:44.959 --> 00:07:47.699 That's amazing. That's really amazing. And so 00:07:47.699 --> 00:07:49.439 you've obviously been playing this instrument 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:51.000 for a long time now and you've gotten to know 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:53.430 it. over years and years. Yeah, it's so interesting. 00:07:53.730 --> 00:07:56.269 I find that some of our colleagues turn over 00:07:56.269 --> 00:07:59.310 instruments more quickly, and some have a really 00:07:59.310 --> 00:08:01.329 long -term relationship with an instrument. And 00:08:01.329 --> 00:08:03.470 this goes even beyond that. It's a generational 00:08:03.470 --> 00:08:05.709 thing in your family. That's wonderful. Yeah, 00:08:05.970 --> 00:08:09.430 it's so personal. It's one of those things where 00:08:09.430 --> 00:08:12.329 you get attached to an instrument. And I think 00:08:12.329 --> 00:08:14.029 because I've been playing on this one for a really 00:08:14.029 --> 00:08:19.410 long time, it becomes almost your voice. So earlier 00:08:19.410 --> 00:08:21.889 this summer, you performed at the Sound Atlas 00:08:21.889 --> 00:08:25.829 New Music Festival with Lenz and Ensemble, the 00:08:25.829 --> 00:08:27.209 contemporary music ensemble that you're part 00:08:27.209 --> 00:08:29.449 of. But I also, I heard you play a piece written 00:08:29.449 --> 00:08:31.089 by your brother. Can you tell us about that piece? 00:08:31.410 --> 00:08:34.850 Oh, sure. Oh, that was so much fun. That's Creepy 00:08:34.850 --> 00:08:37.450 Crawly by my brother, Michael van der Sloot, 00:08:37.669 --> 00:08:41.269 who is also a cellist, but a composer as well. 00:08:41.549 --> 00:08:43.909 That was so much fun. That piece was written 00:08:43.909 --> 00:08:47.350 for us as part of our residence at Mount Royal 00:08:47.350 --> 00:08:49.570 University. at the conservatory there where the 00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:52.330 ensemble in residence. So we commissioned him 00:08:52.330 --> 00:08:56.090 to write this trio for us. And it's a prelude 00:08:56.090 --> 00:08:59.690 and a fugue. But my brother's sense of humor 00:08:59.690 --> 00:09:01.669 has always been a little bit dark and twisted. 00:09:01.789 --> 00:09:06.389 So it takes influences from heavy metal and funk. 00:09:06.830 --> 00:09:11.169 And it's very dark in its sort of sound. And 00:09:11.169 --> 00:09:13.730 he's put into it all these little jingles, twisted 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:17.809 versions of nursery rhymes, of corporate tunes 00:09:17.809 --> 00:09:20.009 and they're sort of interspersed throughout the 00:09:20.009 --> 00:09:22.549 piece, which is a lot of fun. It begins in a 00:09:22.549 --> 00:09:24.809 really cool way. It's got the the lid of the 00:09:24.809 --> 00:09:27.710 piano is completely off and the pianist, our 00:09:27.710 --> 00:09:30.429 pianist Suzanne Ruber Gordon, she's in there 00:09:30.429 --> 00:09:35.049 and she's got, I believe, some foils and she's 00:09:35.049 --> 00:09:37.509 got a ruler and she's tapping on the strings 00:09:37.509 --> 00:09:39.389 and it's creating this really eerie almost like 00:09:39.389 --> 00:09:43.309 a nail on a chalkboard type of effect and it's 00:09:43.309 --> 00:09:46.049 a fun piece yeah yeah it sounded like yeah i 00:09:46.049 --> 00:09:47.950 i really enjoyed hearing it and there was another 00:09:47.950 --> 00:09:52.509 piece as well a moto perpetuo yeah so moto perpetuo 00:09:52.509 --> 00:09:55.909 is this piece for violin and piano that my brother 00:09:55.909 --> 00:09:57.789 wrote he actually didn't write this one for me 00:09:57.789 --> 00:10:00.009 but i have been fortunate to play it a number 00:10:00.009 --> 00:10:04.769 of times it's short it's very fast um you know 00:10:04.769 --> 00:10:07.549 a moto perpetuo the idea being that it's this 00:10:07.549 --> 00:10:11.100 virtuosic piece and inspired by Paganini, one 00:10:11.100 --> 00:10:14.019 of the greatest violin virtuosos of all time. 00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:17.080 Because my brother's got this twisted sense of 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:19.879 humor that he's had for as long as I can humanly 00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:22.940 remember. The piece is inspired by the idea of 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:26.840 Paganini coming back to life to possess the, 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:29.220 um, with his spirit, a meat grinder or a piece 00:10:29.220 --> 00:10:33.100 of heavy machinery. So it's, it's a little bit, 00:10:33.100 --> 00:10:36.179 um, I don't know what the word would be. It's 00:10:36.179 --> 00:10:39.740 a, it sounds grindy. Yeah. Oh, that's so much 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:42.399 fun. It's very evocative and the music sounds 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:45.220 that way to reflect it. That's really neat. So 00:10:45.220 --> 00:10:48.320 with Land's End Ensemble, can you tell us what's 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.000 the guiding principle behind Land's End? What 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:53.419 are you setting out to do? Oh, so tell us about 00:10:53.419 --> 00:10:56.720 who is Land's End Ensemble. So Land's End Ensemble 00:10:56.720 --> 00:11:01.100 is a contemporary piano trio with the main focus 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:05.200 of commissioning, recording, and performing, 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:08.779 you know, bringing to life new works by mostly 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:11.320 Canadian composers, but of course, living composers 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:14.379 from around the world. And that's really the 00:11:14.379 --> 00:11:17.919 heart and soul of the ensemble. The piano trio 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:20.399 format is an interesting one because it's not 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:23.139 easy to write for. I would say compared to something 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:26.259 like string quartet, there's less music written 00:11:26.259 --> 00:11:29.899 for the group as a whole. So, you know, we really 00:11:29.899 --> 00:11:32.740 make an effort to commission and to have composers 00:11:32.740 --> 00:11:36.279 write works for us. That's great. So I joined 00:11:36.279 --> 00:11:40.639 the ensemble in 2022. That was my first season 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:43.879 with them, and it's been so much fun. And I joined 00:11:43.879 --> 00:11:47.259 after John Lowry, who is our associate concertmaster, 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.980 left the group. And so, obviously, I had big 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:52.059 shoes to fill, so I was very nervous about it. 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:54.480 Yeah, and John was a founding member. Yes. Right? 00:11:54.539 --> 00:11:57.500 As well as Beth and Suzanne? As well as Beth, 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:00.559 Ruth Sandvoss, our cellist. And I don't believe 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:02.850 that Suzanne Rubrik... Gordon was the founding 00:12:02.850 --> 00:12:06.330 pianist, but she's been there for a while now. 00:12:06.330 --> 00:12:09.129 And when I joined, she had been there. And they're 00:12:09.129 --> 00:12:12.889 wonderful. They are such great musicians and 00:12:12.889 --> 00:12:16.889 inspiring to work with. And yeah, it's been a 00:12:16.889 --> 00:12:19.389 lot of fun to be in this trio with these two 00:12:19.389 --> 00:12:22.769 women that I find extremely inspiring also outside 00:12:22.769 --> 00:12:26.610 of music and just to have the chance to work 00:12:26.610 --> 00:12:28.509 with them and learn from them and their experiences 00:12:28.509 --> 00:12:33.200 in the industry. we joke that we're a girl power 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:35.779 group sort of thing. And part of our mission, 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:39.720 of course, is also to seek out music and commission 00:12:39.720 --> 00:12:42.620 works by composers of color, composers who are 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:45.419 minorities, composers who are women, and really 00:12:45.419 --> 00:12:48.559 try to get better representation in the music 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:50.519 that we play. That's wonderful. That's really 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:52.779 wonderful. And that's one of the beautiful things 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:55.360 about playing contemporary music, right? You're 00:12:55.360 --> 00:12:58.840 not stuck with... sort of a fixed array of things 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:02.179 to choose from, you can make things happen, and 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:04.960 you can give opportunities to people to make 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:08.679 something new. What have you found are some of 00:13:08.679 --> 00:13:10.980 the challenges and some of the joys of playing 00:13:10.980 --> 00:13:13.820 contemporary music, as opposed to, say, playing 00:13:13.820 --> 00:13:16.799 in the orchestra where we mostly play music that's 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:19.919 been around for a while? That's a very good question. 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:24.000 I would say it's almost like you have to... re 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:27.059 screw on your head a little bit when you're playing 00:13:27.059 --> 00:13:29.840 contemporary music, at least in the way that 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.879 we do, because we're not often playing things 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:35.820 that have already been recorded or are easy to 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:38.679 find if they have been recorded. You know, you're 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:42.139 working with a slate that is much blanker than 00:13:42.139 --> 00:13:43.879 it would be if it's in the traditional canon. 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:47.679 So something that I love is that it gives you 00:13:47.679 --> 00:13:51.100 this freedom to be a little bit more exploratory. 00:13:51.179 --> 00:13:54.840 It also I think pushes you to go further into 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:56.879 the music because many of the things that we 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:01.519 take for granted due to, you know, sort of the 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:03.940 tradition of how people play and being able to 00:14:03.940 --> 00:14:06.259 look back and see this discourse on, you know, 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:09.700 how to play a work that's been around for hundreds 00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:13.179 of years, you don't have that when you're playing 00:14:13.179 --> 00:14:16.259 something that is new, it's absent. So it's up 00:14:16.259 --> 00:14:18.659 to you to really actually go deep into the music 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:21.909 and ask a lot of questions yourself. about what 00:14:21.909 --> 00:14:24.149 the music is saying. Maybe if you are fortunate 00:14:24.149 --> 00:14:27.110 to work with a composer to ask them, you know, 00:14:27.110 --> 00:14:29.629 what are you envisioning? Is this the sound that 00:14:29.629 --> 00:14:32.710 you want? How can I really bring this to life 00:14:32.710 --> 00:14:35.690 in a way that is meaningful and exciting and 00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:38.610 accurate to what the composer is asking for? 00:14:39.049 --> 00:14:41.190 Yeah, it's a different sort of freedom, but also 00:14:41.190 --> 00:14:43.470 a different sort of responsibility to find things 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:46.210 in the music in a different way. I agree. I find 00:14:46.210 --> 00:14:48.149 that when I'm playing contemporary music, I'm 00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:49.870 using my brain in a whole different creative 00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:52.860 way. that I find really rewarding. Yeah. No, 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:55.559 I love it. And it's, for me, it's a good challenge 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:59.080 too, because I tend to play more on instinct 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:02.960 and feeling. And again, that idea of taking for 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:05.960 granted that we have this whole, at least as 00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:07.860 a violinist, you know, we've got these schools 00:15:07.860 --> 00:15:10.600 that go back back and you can trace your teacher's 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:13.320 teacher's teacher's teacher was someone who ended 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:15.279 up writing, you know, was a violinist who wrote 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.539 this piece. So you have these really strong lineages 00:15:18.539 --> 00:15:21.230 and ways of playing that. become sort of ingrained. 00:15:21.389 --> 00:15:25.149 It's a method of looking at the music. And when 00:15:25.149 --> 00:15:27.610 it's something new that doesn't have that and 00:15:27.610 --> 00:15:29.929 you're doing it yourself. And as I said, I tend 00:15:29.929 --> 00:15:32.769 to kind of just go based on what I would call 00:15:32.769 --> 00:15:35.169 instinct, but it's probably just a deep learning 00:15:35.169 --> 00:15:38.049 of that lineage. All of a sudden I have to use 00:15:38.049 --> 00:15:40.429 my brain so differently. I have to think a little 00:15:40.429 --> 00:15:43.710 bit harder about everything. So Lenzen just released 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:47.629 a new album, the music of John Corleano. Yep. 00:15:47.929 --> 00:15:50.529 And a trio by Vincent Ho, who is our artistic 00:15:50.529 --> 00:15:52.730 director. Great. Yeah. Vince is a local composer 00:15:52.730 --> 00:15:55.870 here in Calgary. Yeah. He's wonderful. We love 00:15:55.870 --> 00:15:58.289 him. We love his music. Um, and the Corleano 00:15:58.289 --> 00:16:01.710 is an incredible work. It was a lot of work to 00:16:01.710 --> 00:16:04.990 put together. Um, and great, greatly rewarding, 00:16:04.990 --> 00:16:08.490 I would say it's poems actually of Bob Dylan. 00:16:08.929 --> 00:16:11.009 I don't want to say re -imagined because they 00:16:11.009 --> 00:16:14.509 sound completely different. from how you would, 00:16:14.889 --> 00:16:16.570 you know, if you know, if you know Bob Dylan's 00:16:16.570 --> 00:16:19.110 music, you think blowing in the wind. And then 00:16:19.110 --> 00:16:21.330 when you hear what Corleone has done with the 00:16:21.330 --> 00:16:23.809 text, it's just I have no words to say other 00:16:23.809 --> 00:16:27.190 than it's completely like a reinterpretation 00:16:27.190 --> 00:16:29.490 of it. Yeah, it's a new setting of the poems, 00:16:29.629 --> 00:16:32.330 like many, you know, Schumann Schubert, you know, 00:16:32.389 --> 00:16:34.509 a lot of them are drawing on similar sources 00:16:34.509 --> 00:16:37.690 for for text for art songs and things like that. 00:16:37.750 --> 00:16:40.610 It's it's simply a new setting of these texts. 00:16:40.669 --> 00:16:43.769 I mean, Bob Dylan. won a Nobel Prize for poetry, 00:16:43.950 --> 00:16:46.090 for literature, right? Yeah. It's really just 00:16:46.090 --> 00:16:49.789 a fresh look at that text in a different musical 00:16:49.789 --> 00:16:52.690 idiom. Totally. But I'll tell you a little bit 00:16:52.690 --> 00:16:57.129 about Mr. Tambourine Man is the title, but it's 00:16:57.129 --> 00:17:02.629 set for amplified soprano, piano trio, plus flute 00:17:02.629 --> 00:17:07.609 and clarinet and percussion. So it's quite a 00:17:07.609 --> 00:17:10.259 big ensemble. There's a lot of variety within 00:17:10.259 --> 00:17:14.539 the different songs. So we worked with Dr. Laura 00:17:14.539 --> 00:17:18.380 Hines as our soprano, and she's just phenomenal. 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:22.160 She's just a world -class, outstanding singer. 00:17:22.299 --> 00:17:26.039 Yeah, I heard you play this at Sound Atlas a 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:28.460 year ago, the performance of this, and it was 00:17:28.460 --> 00:17:31.059 a wonderful, wonderful performance. Yeah, yeah. 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.809 And that's, I think, I mean... Everyone that 00:17:33.809 --> 00:17:35.450 we worked with was wonderful, but Laura really 00:17:35.450 --> 00:17:38.190 just takes it to that next level as, you know, 00:17:38.269 --> 00:17:40.710 the one who's carrying the text. And we also 00:17:40.710 --> 00:17:43.309 worked with Carl Hertz, who is our former associate 00:17:43.309 --> 00:17:46.869 conductor. And that was really special too, because, 00:17:46.910 --> 00:17:49.690 you know, I have known Carl for years and worked 00:17:49.690 --> 00:17:53.190 with him in the CPO. And this was just a different 00:17:53.190 --> 00:17:57.210 context. And, um, he's, he's terrific. Absolutely 00:17:57.210 --> 00:18:01.490 terrific. So. They'll both be back in town for 00:18:01.490 --> 00:18:05.750 our official album launch concert. Oh great, 00:18:05.930 --> 00:18:07.730 tell us when is that? That'll be in November, 00:18:07.869 --> 00:18:11.009 November 23rd at the Rosé Center at the University 00:18:11.009 --> 00:18:14.109 of Calgary and we will be playing selections 00:18:14.109 --> 00:18:17.430 from the Corleano, not the complete work, as 00:18:17.430 --> 00:18:21.049 well as part of Vincent Ho's trio, which we also 00:18:21.049 --> 00:18:24.700 recorded, which is Griffin Realms. and then we'll 00:18:24.700 --> 00:18:28.200 have a few other works on there for soprano and 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:31.160 piano trio. Great. Well, that sounds like a lovely 00:18:31.160 --> 00:18:33.960 concert. Yeah. But that's only part of Land's 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:39.119 End's 2024 -2025 season. Yes. We have the November 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:42.539 album launch. Then we are in February, February 00:18:42.539 --> 00:18:46.359 22nd. We have a concert at Mount Royal University. 00:18:46.809 --> 00:18:49.809 at the Bella Hall and that's the second year 00:18:49.809 --> 00:18:53.650 of our residency as ensemble in residence at 00:18:53.650 --> 00:18:56.130 the University Conservatory. That will feature 00:18:56.130 --> 00:18:59.109 a new premiere, a commissioned work by Alan Gordon 00:18:59.109 --> 00:19:02.390 Bell. Oh great. That'll be really fun and that'll 00:19:02.390 --> 00:19:06.529 be for our ensemble plus students. So it'll incorporate 00:19:06.529 --> 00:19:09.670 and include students from the conservatory playing 00:19:09.670 --> 00:19:13.130 with us on stage and you know, in our first year 00:19:13.130 --> 00:19:15.589 of the residency, this past year, we had them, 00:19:15.589 --> 00:19:19.549 you know, playing from the balcony and from off 00:19:19.549 --> 00:19:23.210 stage. And it was this big, really spectacular 00:19:23.210 --> 00:19:25.809 show. So I'm really excited for that one. And 00:19:25.809 --> 00:19:28.369 that will also feature another new trio by my 00:19:28.369 --> 00:19:30.710 brother, Michael. Oh, wonderful. You know, I've 00:19:30.710 --> 00:19:33.390 always liked Alan's music, but every time he 00:19:33.390 --> 00:19:35.130 writes something new, I like it more than what 00:19:35.130 --> 00:19:37.630 he's written before. So that's really exciting. 00:19:38.029 --> 00:19:40.609 I should put that in my calendar. Speaking of 00:19:40.609 --> 00:19:43.059 calendars, All these Lands End concerts you can 00:19:43.059 --> 00:19:46.660 look up on the Lands End Ensemble website. I'm 00:19:46.660 --> 00:19:49.259 also going to put them on the CalgaryFilmmusicians 00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:53.220 .ca concert calendar where you can see performances 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:55.779 outside of the CPO by members of the orchestra. 00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:59.339 What else is on for next season? Every year for 00:19:59.339 --> 00:20:02.140 the past several years we join with the School 00:20:02.140 --> 00:20:04.539 of Creative and Performing Arts at University 00:20:04.539 --> 00:20:06.740 of Calgary for their annual Alchemy Festival. 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:10.730 This season, our concert will be on March 29th 00:20:10.730 --> 00:20:12.829 at the Rosé Center as part of that festival. 00:20:13.190 --> 00:20:15.769 And we're really excited about it. We don't have 00:20:15.769 --> 00:20:18.170 everything a hundred percent solidified yet on 00:20:18.170 --> 00:20:20.650 our exact program, but we will be working with 00:20:20.650 --> 00:20:23.690 Andy Lin, who is an ARHU player and a violist 00:20:23.690 --> 00:20:26.869 based in Vancouver. Yeah. That's great. It will 00:20:26.869 --> 00:20:30.130 be a lot of fun. I have actually never played 00:20:30.130 --> 00:20:32.589 with an ARHU player before, so I'm really looking 00:20:32.589 --> 00:20:34.869 forward to this. It'll be a new, something new 00:20:34.869 --> 00:20:37.680 for me. Can you tell us a little bit about the 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:40.819 Alchemy Festival? Sure. So I believe that the 00:20:40.819 --> 00:20:43.079 festival as a whole sort of highlights a lot 00:20:43.079 --> 00:20:45.240 of the creative things going on at the school. 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.339 And the concert that we put on is interesting 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:50.539 because we always feature works by student composers. 00:20:50.759 --> 00:20:53.720 Oh, that's wonderful. So earlier in the year, 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:57.420 we have workshops and sessions with these students 00:20:57.420 --> 00:21:00.839 and we help them to figure out how to write for 00:21:00.839 --> 00:21:03.299 a piano trio, really. So they write and we give 00:21:03.299 --> 00:21:06.019 them feedback and they go back to the drawing 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:11.160 board and they make adjustments. And on the concert, 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:14.440 we end up programming usually, I think it's three 00:21:14.440 --> 00:21:18.319 to four of their works, along with the rest of 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:20.440 our program. It's a really special opportunity 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:23.160 to work with the next generation of composers 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:25.539 and for them to hear their works played by a 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:27.279 professional ensemble, which is really, really 00:21:27.279 --> 00:21:29.339 rare as a student. And there's no substitute 00:21:29.339 --> 00:21:33.730 for that, right? working away on their own, they 00:21:33.730 --> 00:21:36.309 can have it in their mind's ear to some degree. 00:21:36.690 --> 00:21:38.069 If they're writing on a computer, the computer 00:21:38.069 --> 00:21:42.250 can play it back in some sort of form. But as 00:21:42.250 --> 00:21:44.990 far as how it actually sounds, how a thing actually 00:21:44.990 --> 00:21:47.609 works, how the music breathes, these are things 00:21:47.609 --> 00:21:51.470 that you can't simulate. Every year, the CPO 00:21:51.470 --> 00:21:54.589 takes a little bit of time to play U of C students' 00:21:54.690 --> 00:21:57.309 compositions as well. And I always find that 00:21:57.309 --> 00:22:00.349 really exciting. a really exciting time at work 00:22:00.349 --> 00:22:03.130 because these are the first times that these 00:22:03.130 --> 00:22:05.849 pieces are, you know, real acoustic things happening 00:22:05.849 --> 00:22:08.109 in the air in the room. You know, I think the 00:22:08.109 --> 00:22:10.529 composers really learn a lot by actually hearing 00:22:10.529 --> 00:22:14.230 how the concept meets reality. And there's no 00:22:14.230 --> 00:22:16.829 substitute for that, really. I completely agree. 00:22:16.970 --> 00:22:19.430 There's no substitute. And often we get these 00:22:19.430 --> 00:22:22.710 moments where we'll play it back and we'll say, 00:22:23.990 --> 00:22:25.849 are you sure this is quite what you were hoping 00:22:25.849 --> 00:22:29.130 for? Say, well, you know, more or less. And we 00:22:29.130 --> 00:22:30.829 say, okay, what if we tweaked it? So, you know, 00:22:31.009 --> 00:22:33.670 the cello moves to here or we have a little bit 00:22:33.670 --> 00:22:36.869 of a gap. You know, sometimes one of, um, one 00:22:36.869 --> 00:22:39.470 of the things when you have a playback on, on 00:22:39.470 --> 00:22:42.890 a, on a digital scoring software is the playback 00:22:42.890 --> 00:22:46.549 is, you know, done by. MIDI or, or some other 00:22:46.549 --> 00:22:49.809 electronic sound. So things that aren't really 00:22:49.809 --> 00:22:53.789 possible on an acoustic instrument, they work 00:22:53.789 --> 00:22:57.539 in the software. but once it's a living breathing 00:22:57.539 --> 00:22:59.859 thing, as you were saying, it's so different. 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:02.160 So we'll say, oh, maybe we need a second here 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:04.559 to let this speak or whatever and play it back. 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:06.839 And they go, their eyes just light up. And it's 00:23:06.839 --> 00:23:09.700 like, yes, that's the sound. That's what I was 00:23:09.700 --> 00:23:12.119 looking for. And, you know, they're students, 00:23:12.240 --> 00:23:14.740 so they're new to it. So it's not so much that 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:17.220 we're, we're not exactly telling them, you know, 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:19.460 go fix this, do this, this, that, but, but it's 00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:22.490 just a little bit of. Just just helping them 00:23:22.490 --> 00:23:25.130 to to understand what they're writing for exactly 00:23:25.130 --> 00:23:27.710 Yeah It's not like we the professionals are the 00:23:27.710 --> 00:23:29.849 we have a monopoly on the truth of these things 00:23:29.849 --> 00:23:32.089 and the students come to us And we tell them 00:23:32.089 --> 00:23:35.250 what it's actually like no as we play this This 00:23:35.250 --> 00:23:38.309 music like we're all discovering it together 00:23:38.309 --> 00:23:41.549 Yeah for the first time right and and everyone's 00:23:41.549 --> 00:23:43.329 learning and everyone is you know, we're all 00:23:43.329 --> 00:23:45.970 in the same team Yeah, trying to figure out like 00:23:45.970 --> 00:23:48.150 what is this thing that we're trying to do and 00:23:48.150 --> 00:23:50.369 how can it be great? Exactly. It's a really exciting 00:23:50.369 --> 00:23:54.319 process Yeah, and it's inspiring to see also 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.160 what creative things students come up with. I 00:23:57.160 --> 00:24:00.339 find this in our work with Land's End and also 00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:02.779 in my teaching, that it's just a recurring theme 00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:05.259 of, oh, wow, I've actually never looked at this 00:24:05.259 --> 00:24:09.140 this way before, until a student points it out 00:24:09.140 --> 00:24:11.880 and you go, huh, I'm learning too. Yeah, absolutely, 00:24:12.220 --> 00:24:15.299 absolutely. So as an audience member coming to 00:24:15.299 --> 00:24:17.599 an orchestra concert or a chamber music concert, 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:19.759 you were talking about as a performer, you have 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:21.299 to put your head on a little bit differently 00:24:21.299 --> 00:24:24.779 for each of those. What do you think the differences 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:27.859 or similarities would be as a listener? Well, 00:24:28.220 --> 00:24:31.839 I think it's just an entirely different experience. 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:34.759 You may go into an orchestra concert knowing 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:37.440 the repertoire already. Let's say it's Beethoven's 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:39.559 Ninth Symphony, right? And in that regard, you 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:41.980 know what to expect. You have an idea of what 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:43.259 the music's going to sound like, you know, how 00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:45.960 it's going to make you feel. If it's contemporary, 00:24:46.220 --> 00:24:48.519 especially if it's a premier, you know, you have 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:51.900 no idea. So I think as a listener, it requires 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:56.680 a very open mind and just a willingness to be 00:24:56.680 --> 00:24:58.839 really present with the music and let it take 00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:02.319 you wherever the music goes. You know, sometimes 00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:05.220 it's tonal, sometimes it's not. Being willing 00:25:05.220 --> 00:25:07.940 to be immersed in something that is new. I would 00:25:07.940 --> 00:25:11.279 say, is important. And that really enhances, 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:14.119 I think, the experience for the listener and 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:16.720 for the performer, because then you feel this 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:20.700 chemistry between the performers and the audience. 00:25:20.920 --> 00:25:23.880 It's really palpable in new music, and it's also 00:25:23.880 --> 00:25:26.660 really palpable in the orchestra hall, when there 00:25:26.660 --> 00:25:28.660 are those moments where just, you know, everyone, 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:31.099 you can feel the hall is electric. Yeah. Yeah, 00:25:31.099 --> 00:25:33.369 those are special moments when they happen. You 00:25:33.369 --> 00:25:35.009 know, one of the magical things that happens 00:25:35.009 --> 00:25:38.009 on stage with the CPO as a player is we're surrounded 00:25:38.009 --> 00:25:41.170 by so many great musicians. I wanted to ask you, 00:25:41.230 --> 00:25:43.430 Maria, who is a player in the CPO who's playing 00:25:43.430 --> 00:25:48.089 you admire? Oh, that's a that's a good question. 00:25:48.089 --> 00:25:50.470 And I feel like kind of a mean one because then 00:25:50.470 --> 00:25:52.549 I have to pinpoint one person. I know. Blame 00:25:52.549 --> 00:25:55.309 me. I'm asking you to pick one person out of 00:25:55.309 --> 00:25:57.930 the out of the constellation of stars of the 00:25:57.930 --> 00:26:03.740 CPO. OK, as a section violinist. You know, I 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:07.279 rotate who I sit with pretty much week by week 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:10.119 So you get to know all of all of the first violinists 00:26:10.119 --> 00:26:12.839 pretty well when you're sitting together So it's 00:26:12.839 --> 00:26:15.299 a bit of a cop -out answer, but I want to say 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:19.200 all of my section mates I'm surrounded in my 00:26:19.200 --> 00:26:22.980 section by players who are all Inspiring as people 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:25.180 and also fantastic players who all have different 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:27.619 strengths and skills and who I can learn from 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:32.460 so it's a lot of fun and I would say it's the 00:26:32.460 --> 00:26:35.279 whole section first violinists that are my favorite. 00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:39.480 Well, it's great to have so many people who's 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:41.900 playing you can admire and who you get to sit 00:26:41.900 --> 00:26:44.319 with. I sit by the same people every day, but 00:26:44.319 --> 00:26:45.940 you get to rotate a little bit. And that's probably 00:26:45.940 --> 00:26:49.140 pretty fun and a perk of being in a string section. 00:26:50.059 --> 00:26:51.519 Well, Maria, thank you so much for sitting down 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:53.240 with me today. It was great. Thank you for having 00:26:53.240 --> 00:26:56.640 me. Notes from the Stage is an independent production 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:58.599 of the Calgary Philharmonic Players Association. 00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:00.940 The opinions expressed here are our own and do 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:02.619 not reflect those of the Calgary Philharmonic 00:27:02.619 --> 00:27:05.000 Orchestra. Our thanks to Nathan Chandler for 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:07.420 his technical expertise. The music you heard 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:09.980 on this episode was Mr. Tambourine Man by John 00:27:09.980 --> 00:27:13.220 Corleano and Griffin Realms by Vincent Ho, both 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:15.259 from Land's End Ensemble's new recording available 00:27:15.259 --> 00:27:17.900 now anywhere you get music. Let us know what 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:19.480 you think of the show and check out our concert 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:21.740 calendar at calgaryfilmmusicians .ca to see what 00:27:21.740 --> 00:27:23.740 we're all up to outside of our regular performances 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:26.960 of the CPO. On our next episode in two weeks, 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:29.200 I'll be talking with bassist Matt Heller. Talk 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:29.680 to you soon!