WEBVTT 00:00:00.300 --> 00:00:47.710 you Hi there and welcome to Notes from the Stage, 00:00:47.869 --> 00:00:50.009 a show from the musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic. 00:00:50.329 --> 00:00:51.929 We're the people playing our hearts out every 00:00:51.929 --> 00:00:54.890 week of the orchestra season. I'm Adam Zinatelli. 00:00:54.990 --> 00:00:57.229 Usually I play first trumpet in the Calgary Philharmonic, 00:00:57.270 --> 00:00:59.450 but today I'm your host and I'm here with cellist 00:00:59.450 --> 00:01:02.170 Kathleen DeConn. Hi Kathleen! Hi Adam! Thanks 00:01:02.170 --> 00:01:04.349 for coming on the show! Thanks for having me. 00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:06.670 Well today, as we sit and record about a week 00:01:06.670 --> 00:01:09.609 before release, we've got our first big dump 00:01:09.609 --> 00:01:12.250 of snow here in Calgary. How's that for you? 00:01:12.750 --> 00:01:16.269 Well, the drive here was a little interesting. 00:01:16.469 --> 00:01:18.109 You know, lots of people without winter tires, 00:01:18.269 --> 00:01:20.430 lots of sliding, lots of ice, but. Were conveniently 00:01:20.430 --> 00:01:23.069 scheduled, uh, like right during rush hour, basically. 00:01:23.409 --> 00:01:25.689 Exactly. Yes. But you know, it also makes me 00:01:25.689 --> 00:01:28.250 excited for winter. I love to ski. I love to 00:01:28.250 --> 00:01:30.810 be outside. I like the brightness and my dog 00:01:30.810 --> 00:01:33.890 loves the snow. So I can't complain either. Wonderful. 00:01:33.969 --> 00:01:35.430 Wonderful. Yeah. I know that you and Antoine 00:01:35.430 --> 00:01:38.620 are big, uh, outdoorsy people. Uh, and your dog 00:01:38.620 --> 00:01:41.319 is how old now? Two years old? Yeah, Patat is 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:44.219 two and a half now. Oh, wonderful. Has he taken 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:47.079 to your outdoor activities? You know what, that 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:48.959 a lot of people ask that because we do spend 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:51.079 a lot of time outside and we often bring him 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:53.540 with us on our camping trips and biking trips 00:01:53.540 --> 00:01:56.859 and stuff like that. However, he he's a labrador, 00:01:57.060 --> 00:02:01.079 yellow lab, and he is fine after his first walk 00:02:01.079 --> 00:02:04.000 of the day. He really likes to curl up and nap 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.659 and sleep. And so we just kind of let him do 00:02:06.659 --> 00:02:09.240 his thing. Sometimes we'll bring him on little 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:12.460 hikes, but we we did bring him on a hike when 00:02:12.460 --> 00:02:16.039 we had him. After one year or so, he was about 00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:18.439 a year old and we took him to Pickle Jar Lakes 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:21.280 in Kananaskis. And once we finished the hike, 00:02:21.419 --> 00:02:24.340 he got in the car and was comatose for kind of 00:02:24.340 --> 00:02:26.319 the next two days. So after that. Oh, two days. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:29.080 Oh no. Yeah, poor guy. He was exhausted. So, 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.099 uh, we, we don't bring him on all those adventures. 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:33.259 Sure. I guess you have to know sort of what size 00:02:33.259 --> 00:02:35.979 of, uh, undertaking it is to calibrate to him. 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:38.360 Exactly. And, and he enjoys napping. So I don't 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:39.659 want to take that away from him. Yeah. It's one 00:02:39.659 --> 00:02:43.060 of life's great joys. So we kind of got off book 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:44.460 right at the beginning there, which is great. 00:02:44.639 --> 00:02:46.580 But you know, talking about the dog is of course 00:02:46.580 --> 00:02:50.080 a high priority here. But you Kathleen, you've 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:53.819 got Alberta roots. That's right, Adam. I, you 00:02:53.819 --> 00:02:57.219 know, unfortunately for our hardcore Calgary 00:02:57.219 --> 00:02:59.939 fan listeners, I am not from Calgary. I grew 00:02:59.939 --> 00:03:03.939 up in Edmonton, but I do have a Calgary connection. 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:07.479 My parents both grew up in Calgary, and they 00:03:07.479 --> 00:03:09.659 actually met in the Calgary Youth Orchestra. 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:13.960 Oh, wow. Yes, a really cute little story. My 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:16.580 dad is a violist. My mom was a trumpet player. 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:19.139 OK, I didn't know that. Yes. Yeah, you guys should 00:03:19.139 --> 00:03:23.699 meet sometime. Like already. And yeah, so they 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:25.419 grew up in Calgary, met in the Youth Orchestra 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:28.379 and then. moved away and came back to Alberta 00:03:28.379 --> 00:03:32.759 via Edmonton. So great place to grow up, a really 00:03:32.759 --> 00:03:36.500 nice music community, really great scene there. 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:41.800 I grew up surrounded by music at home. My sisters 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:44.460 all played instruments and it became a big part 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:47.349 of my life. right away with cello lessons from 00:03:47.349 --> 00:03:51.050 the age of five. And I also did band, I did French 00:03:51.050 --> 00:03:53.530 horn for years. I didn't know that either. Yes, 00:03:53.750 --> 00:03:56.889 I used to play French horn quite a bit. I have 00:03:56.889 --> 00:04:02.069 a recurring nightmare, perhaps, that I am asked 00:04:02.069 --> 00:04:04.270 to jump into the French horn section last minute. 00:04:04.310 --> 00:04:07.110 That happens kind of a couple times a year. Okay. 00:04:07.669 --> 00:04:12.759 Wow. Unfortunately, I don't think the horn section 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:14.960 would actually want me to come play Max Stein, 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:17.160 the third horn player. He has heard me play horn 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:21.139 and he, you know, gracefully declined my subbing 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:23.740 offers. That's right. That's too bad. So are 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:26.120 your parents professional musicians? That's a 00:04:26.120 --> 00:04:28.439 good question. They are not, but they are both. 00:04:28.649 --> 00:04:32.790 very high level amateurs. Both have continued 00:04:32.790 --> 00:04:37.329 music into their adult lives alongside their 00:04:37.329 --> 00:04:41.709 careers as well. My dad is a doctor and my mom 00:04:41.709 --> 00:04:45.009 trained as a physio and they both still play 00:04:45.009 --> 00:04:47.569 music quite a bit. They have their weekly groups. 00:04:47.670 --> 00:04:50.990 My dad plays in a Borealis Orchestra in Edmonton, 00:04:51.009 --> 00:04:53.699 which is a community orchestra. I just heard 00:04:53.699 --> 00:04:55.839 their concert last week. It was very good. Wonderful. 00:04:56.139 --> 00:04:59.519 And my mom plays in Mill Creek Colliery Band, 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:01.699 a British brass band in Edmonton. Oh, wow. Wonderful. 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:04.959 That's great. Yeah. Fun. Yeah. You know, those 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:07.920 amateur groups are such an important backbone 00:05:07.920 --> 00:05:12.060 of a city's music scene. You know, so many people 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:14.199 love playing their instruments and love performing, 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.079 but they are professionals. And that's totally 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:19.560 fine. Those community ensembles give so many 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:23.250 people a chance. to appreciate music, to love 00:05:23.250 --> 00:05:27.149 playing music, and to just have fun doing something 00:05:27.149 --> 00:05:30.290 that's, you know, a nice challenge. And actually, 00:05:30.529 --> 00:05:34.509 some of my first experiences doing a lot of chamber 00:05:34.509 --> 00:05:37.610 music repertoire was actually with my dad and 00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:40.310 a lot of his friends. So he has this whole community 00:05:40.310 --> 00:05:44.050 of string players that are none of them are professional, 00:05:44.069 --> 00:05:46.660 but they're all pretty high level amateurs who 00:05:46.660 --> 00:05:48.779 have been playing chamber music together for 00:05:48.779 --> 00:05:51.779 years. They get together, have parties and kind 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:55.980 of once I started to be a little bit more proficient 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:58.639 in cello, I started to join them. So I'd be playing 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:03.480 Brahms, sextets and quintets and just a lot of 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:06.240 repertoire that you. Nowadays, I realize it's 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:08.160 kind of special. You don't always get to play 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:11.180 that bigger chamber music route. So some of my 00:06:11.180 --> 00:06:14.540 first summer camps were going out to Vancouver 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:17.980 Island with my dad and his friends and playing 00:06:17.980 --> 00:06:21.199 in these chamber music groups at a camp out there 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:24.819 for amateurs. And, uh, really lots of good memories 00:06:24.819 --> 00:06:26.399 from that. And then a lot of these people, you 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:28.060 know, they'll, they'll come to our concerts once 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:30.779 we become professionals. I still see them and 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:34.329 it's nice to have that, uh, that community. That's 00:06:34.329 --> 00:06:36.050 so wonderful. You know the community is such 00:06:36.050 --> 00:06:38.870 a big part of music at all levels I think you 00:06:38.870 --> 00:06:40.170 know I was talking about all those great things 00:06:40.170 --> 00:06:41.910 that happen from people playing in community 00:06:41.910 --> 00:06:44.910 bands But the friendships the relationships that 00:06:44.910 --> 00:06:46.870 you build through that are incredible. I know 00:06:46.870 --> 00:06:50.550 that probably everyone in the orchestra has friends 00:06:50.550 --> 00:06:52.910 that we've known for a long time from youth orchestra 00:06:52.910 --> 00:06:55.430 or from a music camp or things like that. Those 00:06:55.430 --> 00:06:58.329 bonds really, really run deep. That's, that's 00:06:58.329 --> 00:07:01.250 really well put. And I know for, for me specifically, 00:07:01.449 --> 00:07:03.949 everyone comes to their, uh, their position in 00:07:03.949 --> 00:07:06.410 the orchestra in a different way and they have 00:07:06.410 --> 00:07:08.490 a different musical journey. And I think a lot 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:10.930 of the reason that I'm a professional musician 00:07:10.930 --> 00:07:15.129 today is because of some of those experiences 00:07:15.129 --> 00:07:19.540 I had as a teenager and younger student where 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:24.220 I was playing music, making friends, building 00:07:24.220 --> 00:07:27.000 community. And it was one of the more like really 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:29.920 positive places in my life. I felt like I really 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:33.560 belonged. I loved the music making. I loved meeting 00:07:33.560 --> 00:07:36.879 people from all over. I started playing cello 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:41.180 in the Suzuki program. So for those people who 00:07:41.180 --> 00:07:43.439 haven't heard heard of this before, this was 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:47.689 a kind of a pedagogy, a way of teaching that 00:07:47.689 --> 00:07:50.949 originated in Japan by this violinist Suzuki, 00:07:51.189 --> 00:07:56.060 and it's based on learning stuff by ear. So you 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:58.579 listen quite a bit. You play stuff from memory. 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:02.240 That's how you learn music. And another component 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:04.860 of that in the program I was doing in Edmonton 00:08:04.860 --> 00:08:07.920 is we would play in ensembles. So we'd play in 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:10.240 little string quartets, string orchestra. We'd 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:12.939 have group classes every week. And then as I 00:08:12.939 --> 00:08:16.319 got a bit older, I started to do the Suzuki camps 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:19.720 in the summer. So Edmonton had quite a big Suzuki 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:23.110 camp and I got to study with teachers from all 00:08:23.110 --> 00:08:25.350 over from France, from the States, from Canada, 00:08:25.889 --> 00:08:28.529 some really, really great pedagogues, an experience 00:08:28.529 --> 00:08:33.049 which I think really, really shaped my kind of 00:08:33.049 --> 00:08:35.590 growth in cello playing was an exchange that 00:08:35.590 --> 00:08:38.269 was done between the Edmonton Suzuki program 00:08:38.269 --> 00:08:42.970 and the Montreal Suzuki program. So we got put 00:08:42.970 --> 00:08:46.309 together in string quartets with people from, 00:08:46.350 --> 00:08:48.590 there was kind of two people from each province 00:08:48.590 --> 00:08:53.740 and some of those Musicians are people who I 00:08:53.740 --> 00:08:56.279 then like encountered in university or National 00:08:56.279 --> 00:08:58.700 Youth Orchestra, and it was just so fun to be 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:00.860 able to travel and meet people from everywhere. 00:09:01.580 --> 00:09:04.559 It was experiences like that that really made 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:07.960 me want to keep on going with music because I 00:09:07.960 --> 00:09:10.980 had friends there and it just felt good all around. 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:13.480 Absolutely, absolutely. And you know what you've... 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:15.539 Really sort of taken that to another level here 00:09:15.539 --> 00:09:20.220 in Calgary, Kathleen. Yes, Adam. Because, Kathleen, 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:22.799 you are part of one of the handful of married 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:26.460 couples on stage at the CPO. That's true. I'm 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:29.159 married to Antoine Saint -Homge, who's the principal 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:32.360 bassoonist of the Calgary Phil. Luckily, my parents 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:34.919 put me in French immersion, too, because being 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:36.779 bilingual, I can talk to my in -laws, which is 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:38.259 great. Oh, yeah, yeah, that goes a long way, 00:09:38.259 --> 00:09:40.899 I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah, Antoine and I actually 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:44.659 met in the orchestra. We both studied in Montreal 00:09:44.659 --> 00:09:47.000 around the same time, and we found out later 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:49.419 on that we actually lived a block away from each 00:09:49.419 --> 00:09:51.759 other. Never know who you're going to meet or 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:55.679 not meet, but there was a group of about 10 of 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:58.360 us who started in the orchestra six years ago, 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:02.059 back in 2018. Yeah, the rest is kind of history. 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:04.059 It's great being married to someone in the orchestra. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:06.909 Yeah, I mean, that's got to have... a certain 00:10:06.909 --> 00:10:09.289 sense of solidarity within the household, right? 00:10:09.350 --> 00:10:11.429 You know, you're up against the same challenges. 00:10:12.009 --> 00:10:13.750 You know, you have the same schedule. You know, 00:10:13.909 --> 00:10:16.809 you can, you probably spend a lot more time together 00:10:16.809 --> 00:10:19.529 than a lot of married couples do with one person 00:10:19.529 --> 00:10:21.809 in the orchestra, one person not in the orchestra, 00:10:21.929 --> 00:10:24.190 as is the case in my marriage. What's something 00:10:24.190 --> 00:10:27.230 that you didn't expect about that experience 00:10:27.230 --> 00:10:29.610 of sharing a workplace, sharing a schedule with 00:10:29.610 --> 00:10:32.809 your spouse? Well, the first thing that comes 00:10:32.809 --> 00:10:36.330 to mind when I think about the positive things, 00:10:36.450 --> 00:10:39.629 because, you know, there can be negative things 00:10:39.629 --> 00:10:43.509 about doing absolutely everything together. But 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:46.730 something that is really positive is kind of 00:10:46.730 --> 00:10:49.389 what you're alluding to before having the free 00:10:49.389 --> 00:10:52.070 time together is really, really special. And 00:10:52.070 --> 00:10:55.110 I didn't think I really thought much about that 00:10:55.110 --> 00:11:00.559 beforehand, how unique that really is. So. I 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:02.940 started downhill skiing during the pandemic. 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:05.779 I was kind of late to that sport, and that's 00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:08.200 a sport Antoine has done. He's a snowboarder 00:11:08.200 --> 00:11:11.659 for years. We can go to the ski hill on a Monday 00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:13.940 when there's no crowds. That's really nice. We 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:16.519 can take our trips together at the same time 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:18.740 when we have kind of weird weekends here and 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:21.019 there. When I, when I see my friends who are 00:11:21.019 --> 00:11:22.720 in, you know, wonderful relationships as well, 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:25.019 but their partner works Monday to Friday, nine 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:27.679 to five, it's, uh, it can be really tough when 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:29.379 you don't get to spend that time together. So 00:11:29.379 --> 00:11:31.659 we have the, the opposite end of that, where 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:34.720 we spend all our time together and, uh, going 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:38.759 to work and activities and it's. Well, I think 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:40.559 maybe you can say that you have the luxury of 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:44.039 being able to choose what time away from work 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:48.139 you spend together. Yeah, definitely. But it 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:50.399 is really nice being able to work together as 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:55.519 well. We can debrief about the week, what we 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:57.399 thought of the conductor, how did the rehearsals 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:00.360 go, what was the vibe at the concert, and it's 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:02.620 nice to be able to relate to each other in that 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:07.779 way. It seems very high school. but like each 00:12:07.779 --> 00:12:10.100 section of the orchestra can tend to be in a 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:12.919 little bit of its own bubble a lot of the time. 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.259 So I think that like it's really nice to have 00:12:15.259 --> 00:12:18.100 like, you know, there's a built -in bridge between 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:20.840 the woodwind section and the string section right 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:23.700 there in your relationship. And I think that 00:12:23.700 --> 00:12:27.399 it's often easy to sort of stay in your little 00:12:27.399 --> 00:12:30.240 corner of it. And I think that when we communicate 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:33.059 better across the orchestra and reach out to 00:12:33.059 --> 00:12:35.559 one another more, I think that we Well, of course, 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:38.120 we build better relationships and we can enjoy 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:40.080 each other's company more. But also, I think 00:12:40.080 --> 00:12:43.779 we play better because I think we're more intuitively 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:46.639 responsive to people when we when we know them 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:48.759 a bit better. Yeah, I totally agree. I think 00:12:48.759 --> 00:12:51.559 the the more that I've gotten to know different 00:12:51.559 --> 00:12:54.480 people in the orchestra, the more that I maybe 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.480 listen in a different way. And I'm thinking, 00:12:56.519 --> 00:12:59.139 oh, is that is that Jim playing that trombone 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:02.440 solo or Chris and I'm I'm tuning in to listen 00:13:02.440 --> 00:13:05.399 to different people and you get to know they're 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:08.019 playing and you know more about them. And it's 00:13:08.019 --> 00:13:10.360 really a cool part of the orchestra that we're 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:13.940 all this big family. And you're right, having 00:13:13.940 --> 00:13:16.899 this built -in connection between the cello section 00:13:16.899 --> 00:13:20.779 and now I'm married to one of the wind players 00:13:20.779 --> 00:13:23.639 and that much more maybe connected than I was 00:13:23.639 --> 00:13:26.179 in my first couple years and listening to it 00:13:26.179 --> 00:13:29.960 in a different way. So in addition to your on 00:13:29.960 --> 00:13:32.200 -stage duties, Kathleen, you recently started... 00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:35.720 taking on some offstage duties. That's right. 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:40.620 I have joined the rank of pre -concert chat host. 00:13:40.679 --> 00:13:45.279 I feel very lucky. I am joining the bassoonist 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:49.259 Mike Hope, bassist Matt Heller, and also longtime 00:13:49.259 --> 00:13:52.360 supporter of the orchestra, Jeremy Clark, in 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:56.539 doing the pre -concert chats. And it's really 00:13:56.539 --> 00:13:59.070 cool. So some people who maybe arrive... closer 00:13:59.070 --> 00:14:01.669 to concerts might not know that before a lot 00:14:01.669 --> 00:14:05.470 of our classical concerts there is a pre -concert 00:14:05.470 --> 00:14:10.049 chat so at around 6 30 the pre -concert chat 00:14:10.049 --> 00:14:12.549 host will come out and they will interview some 00:14:12.549 --> 00:14:15.970 key people who are part of the concert that evening 00:14:15.970 --> 00:14:19.720 so the a concert that we did recently, we actually 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:23.179 even had the composer. So the soloist was interviewed, 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:26.820 the conductor, and the composer. And it's a nice 00:14:26.820 --> 00:14:29.559 way of being able to get a little bit more of 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:32.080 an insight into the concert beyond just what's 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:34.779 written in the prelude and what you experience 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:37.580 on stage. That's great. Yeah, it's a perfect 00:14:37.580 --> 00:14:39.759 primer for what you're going to sit in the hall 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.700 and experience, right? And I think that classical 00:14:42.700 --> 00:14:44.960 music is one of those things where you know, 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.139 you can go in cold and really enjoy it. But the 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:49.860 more you know about what you're going to hear, 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:52.860 the more you're able to get out of it. Right. 00:14:52.960 --> 00:14:54.759 I think classical music is one of those things 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:57.940 where like your enjoyment of it really snowballs 00:14:57.940 --> 00:14:59.720 quickly when you when you start getting into 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:01.799 it. Right. So these pre -concert chats are such 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:05.000 a great way to like put that bug in your ear 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:07.399 right before the concert about what you're going 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:09.919 to hear and give you some context. It's like 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:12.919 a very inviting, very friendly, spontaneous program 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:16.159 note right before the concert. Yeah. And also, 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.399 some people will connect a little bit more to 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:21.840 a concert as well, not only having more information 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:23.980 about the background or the player, but getting 00:15:23.980 --> 00:15:26.879 to know that having the human aspect as well, 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.539 because there's this natural divide between the 00:15:30.539 --> 00:15:33.179 audience, they're in the hall, and then the musicians, 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:38.019 performers are on stage. it can be cool to know, 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:40.039 oh, is this this person's first time in Calgary? 00:15:40.139 --> 00:15:42.179 What has the week been like? Maybe there's some 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:44.759 interesting stories that people will think about 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:48.019 as the concert's happening. And it just kind 00:15:48.019 --> 00:15:52.340 of adds to adds to the experience, I think. Yeah, 00:15:52.340 --> 00:15:55.019 absolutely. So have there been any surprises 00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:58.940 for you so far in in taking on this new role? 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:04.039 Well, I definitely maybe didn't anticipate the 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:07.740 amount of prep I wanted to do just to make sure 00:16:07.740 --> 00:16:10.059 I really could get a sense of the person ahead 00:16:10.059 --> 00:16:12.120 of time but it's all been really interesting 00:16:12.120 --> 00:16:14.799 which I like the my very first pre -concert chat 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:17.399 was a little bit unique in that the conductor. 00:16:17.690 --> 00:16:21.590 was the soloist. So that isn't something you 00:16:21.590 --> 00:16:23.629 see all the time. So that was kind of unique 00:16:23.629 --> 00:16:26.509 to be able to get into some of the details of 00:16:26.509 --> 00:16:29.970 how that started for him. This was a concert 00:16:29.970 --> 00:16:32.830 with Geoffrey Cahane, who was playing the Ravel 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:36.129 piano concerto and also conducting from the piano, 00:16:36.210 --> 00:16:39.009 which is pretty unique. It was just really nice 00:16:39.009 --> 00:16:42.029 to get to have a laid back conversation with 00:16:42.029 --> 00:16:45.549 him ahead of time and get to know the, you know, 00:16:45.669 --> 00:16:47.649 more human side of him as well beyond just the 00:16:47.649 --> 00:16:49.809 rehearsal setting. Yeah, that's great. That's 00:16:49.809 --> 00:16:52.070 great. And yeah, I mean, it changes how you see 00:16:52.070 --> 00:16:54.070 the concert, too. Not just not just the people 00:16:54.070 --> 00:16:56.370 listening to the chat, but you're someone involved 00:16:56.370 --> 00:16:59.389 on stage with the real making of the sound. So 00:16:59.389 --> 00:17:02.309 that context will sort of affect how you perform 00:17:02.309 --> 00:17:04.779 as well. That's really nice. Yeah. And I think 00:17:04.779 --> 00:17:07.740 it's a, there's definitely a following, a group 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:12.180 of lots of people that come early to see these 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:15.099 chats and just learn and be excited about the 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:17.640 program. And I would definitely encourage people 00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:20.720 to check it out. It's listed on the website, 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:23.160 which concerts will have the pre -concert chat 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:27.000 and being able to experience that before one 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:29.319 of the concerts, I think is really, it's just 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:31.380 really kind of interesting. You get the inside 00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:33.730 scoop on everything. And what's the very next 00:17:33.730 --> 00:17:36.109 concert that you're hosting a chat for? The next 00:17:36.109 --> 00:17:38.450 one that I'm hosting is on Valentine's Day. It's 00:17:38.450 --> 00:17:41.650 the Tchaikovsky in Love program, and we have 00:17:41.650 --> 00:17:45.670 a violin soloist for that one, Julian Rhee, and 00:17:45.670 --> 00:17:48.829 it's being connected by Runa Bergman. For that 00:17:48.829 --> 00:17:50.970 one, like I just, for example, looked at, started 00:17:50.970 --> 00:17:52.910 following the violinist on social media this 00:17:52.910 --> 00:17:54.829 morning, and it looks like him and Runa performed 00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:57.630 together this summer. So obviously there's more 00:17:57.630 --> 00:18:00.269 connections to be unraveled and talked about. 00:18:00.430 --> 00:18:03.000 Yeah, that's great. So we've been talking about 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:05.200 the relationships that we have with our colleagues 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:10.359 professional personal But you also have a very 00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:12.839 personal relationship with your instrument. Tell 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:16.119 us about your cello So the the cello that I play 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:20.339 on now it took me a while to actually go into 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:23.279 the process of looking for a good high -level 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:26.960 cello because I Loved the cello that I was playing 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.359 on so much before my teacher for my undergrad, 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:33.200 Tanya Prochocka in Edmonton at the University 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:36.000 of Alberta. She was not only an incredible teacher, 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:38.900 but she was incredibly generous and supportive 00:18:38.900 --> 00:18:41.880 of her students. And she loaned me one of her 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:46.000 cellos, a German cello for the second half of 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.839 my undergrad and also into my master's as I started 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:53.119 at McGill. However, she said, don't get too attached 00:18:53.119 --> 00:18:55.420 to this. You have to find your own instrument. 00:18:56.589 --> 00:18:59.170 Did you get too attached to it? I did get too 00:18:59.170 --> 00:19:01.490 attached to it. I couldn't imagine trying to 00:19:01.490 --> 00:19:04.809 find another one. But my last year of my masters, 00:19:05.329 --> 00:19:07.869 I started to put out feelers. I was talking to 00:19:07.869 --> 00:19:11.269 professors at the school who could maybe give 00:19:11.269 --> 00:19:14.430 me an idea of where to start, what to look for. 00:19:14.529 --> 00:19:18.410 And there was a teacher, Liz Dolan, who was a 00:19:18.410 --> 00:19:21.769 cello professor. at McGill University, and she 00:19:21.769 --> 00:19:24.549 had a luthier that she would always go to in 00:19:24.549 --> 00:19:28.089 New Jersey, Alejandro Bassiller. She said, oh, 00:19:28.130 --> 00:19:30.450 you should go check him out, but driving eight 00:19:30.450 --> 00:19:32.910 hours from Montreal felt like a bit of a chore. 00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:37.309 But serendipitously, I ran into her on the street, 00:19:37.910 --> 00:19:41.410 March of my final year, and she said, I was just 00:19:41.410 --> 00:19:43.230 thinking about you, Kathleen. I was down in New 00:19:43.230 --> 00:19:47.529 Jersey, and Alejandro had a cello, which is incredible. 00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:50.750 you have to get on a plane like tomorrow and 00:19:50.750 --> 00:19:52.930 go, go try it. Yeah. Get it, try it before someone 00:19:52.930 --> 00:19:57.250 else does. So two, two days later I was in New 00:19:57.250 --> 00:20:01.309 Jersey with a return ticket back for me and a 00:20:01.309 --> 00:20:04.390 cello, hoping that it would go well. I spent 00:20:04.390 --> 00:20:06.390 about three hours in a studio playing it and 00:20:06.390 --> 00:20:09.470 just fell in love. It's a, it's a Belgian cello 00:20:09.470 --> 00:20:14.369 by Louis Dauphin from the 1920s and this luthier, 00:20:14.630 --> 00:20:18.309 he refurbished it and made it sound incredible. 00:20:19.069 --> 00:20:21.670 And that's that's the story of my cello. It came 00:20:21.670 --> 00:20:24.430 back and haven't looked back since. That's wonderful. 00:20:25.069 --> 00:20:28.430 My cello did not enjoy the move to Alberta, though. 00:20:28.609 --> 00:20:30.890 Oh, yeah. It's not not a great place for string 00:20:30.890 --> 00:20:33.990 instruments here. I see my colleagues talking 00:20:33.990 --> 00:20:38.109 about. humidity and cases against the cold and 00:20:38.109 --> 00:20:40.349 all sorts of things. Some of our colleagues find 00:20:40.349 --> 00:20:44.089 that the perfect humidifying device for a viola 00:20:44.089 --> 00:20:46.710 is a piece of romaine lettuce. Yes, Marchion. 00:20:47.769 --> 00:20:49.849 It's great. I haven't tried it on the cello, 00:20:50.069 --> 00:20:51.490 but... Yeah, I don't think it would work the 00:20:51.490 --> 00:20:54.829 same on the cello. Maybe not. But something worth 00:20:54.829 --> 00:20:57.799 trying, perhaps. Within six months of moving 00:20:57.799 --> 00:21:00.420 back to Alberta after my masters, I opened up 00:21:00.420 --> 00:21:03.039 my cello case one cold January day and there 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:05.380 was a massive crack down the front of my cello. 00:21:05.460 --> 00:21:07.220 And I think a lot of people have stories like 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:09.799 that because the instruments, if they're coming 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:12.099 from other places, these wood instruments, they're 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:16.059 not used to this big crack. change in lack of 00:21:16.059 --> 00:21:18.779 humidity, and it takes a while to adjust. But 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:20.680 I think my cello's kind of finally gotten there, 00:21:20.740 --> 00:21:23.299 luckily, so no big cracks recently. Oh, that's 00:21:23.299 --> 00:21:25.440 good. That's good. Yeah. I mean, the Chinooks 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:26.940 in the winter give people headaches. They also 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:28.500 give these string instruments headaches with 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:30.880 these large swings in temperature quickly as 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:33.720 well. Yeah, totally. So it feels like the beginning 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:35.539 of winter here now. Is there anything coming 00:21:35.539 --> 00:21:37.859 up soon, maybe before the new year that you're 00:21:37.859 --> 00:21:40.700 really looking forward to at the CPO? Well, I'm 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:43.319 really looking forward to there's a couple concerts 00:21:43.319 --> 00:21:45.859 which I've been looking forward to Since our 00:21:45.859 --> 00:21:48.500 season got announced last spring and I am really 00:21:48.500 --> 00:21:50.299 looking forward to playing with James Ennis. 00:21:50.359 --> 00:21:54.299 Oh, he's amazing He's incredible just in a whole 00:21:54.299 --> 00:21:58.380 class of his own and he's also just a very nice 00:21:58.380 --> 00:22:01.079 person too I've met him a couple times briefly 00:22:01.079 --> 00:22:03.640 and listened to him on the radio and he's just 00:22:03.640 --> 00:22:06.940 a classy classy guy So really excited to hear 00:22:07.150 --> 00:22:10.170 him perform. And then of course, as all cellists 00:22:10.170 --> 00:22:13.210 are, I'm excited to play with Yo -Yo Ma in May. 00:22:14.029 --> 00:22:16.490 I've actually never worked with him, but I've 00:22:16.490 --> 00:22:19.730 only heard positive things about orchestra's 00:22:19.730 --> 00:22:22.049 experiences playing with him. He'll often come 00:22:22.049 --> 00:22:24.589 into the cello section for the second half too. 00:22:25.089 --> 00:22:27.029 Not positive that will happen or not, but that 00:22:27.029 --> 00:22:29.029 would be super exciting if all of a sudden I'm 00:22:29.029 --> 00:22:31.009 Stan partners with Yo -Yo Ma for the second half. 00:22:31.230 --> 00:22:34.269 Yeah, no, he has an amazing way of elevating 00:22:34.269 --> 00:22:36.660 everyone around him. You know, everyone just 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:40.000 wants to really bring their very best. And it's 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.279 a magical vibe when he's around at the orchestra, 00:22:43.299 --> 00:22:45.460 that's for sure. Yeah, so I'm really looking 00:22:45.460 --> 00:22:47.920 forward to that one. There's another concert 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:50.059 in March, which I'm really looking forward to, 00:22:50.099 --> 00:22:52.680 which I have a bit of a personal connection to. 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:55.759 We're performing with the vocal group Rhyaton 00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:58.700 and they're doing a concert where we're playing 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:01.859 the music of ABBA. So before coming to Calgary, 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:05.240 I played in Symphony Nova Scotia as principal 00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:08.240 cello for a year. And this was so exciting. It 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:10.940 was my first job. So my family came out a couple 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:15.339 of times to hear the orchestra perform. And one 00:23:15.339 --> 00:23:18.740 of the visits out, my mom brought her dad, my 00:23:18.740 --> 00:23:21.000 grandfather, who still lives in Calgary actually. 00:23:21.539 --> 00:23:24.460 And it was a weekend where we were doing a classical 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:28.119 concert and also a Pops concert. And my grandfather 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:30.059 initially wasn't super excited about the idea 00:23:30.059 --> 00:23:32.759 of the Pops show, but he said, okay, sure, I'll 00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:37.059 go. And he was dancing in the aisles to ABBA. 00:23:37.240 --> 00:23:40.000 He went and bought a CD. He got it signed. It 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:43.640 was just the highlight of the trip for him. So, 00:23:43.859 --> 00:23:46.779 um, I've got tickets for him and, uh, he's going 00:23:46.779 --> 00:23:51.400 to be 90, 91. And, uh, and I'm really excited 00:23:51.400 --> 00:23:54.250 for him to hear the show again in Calgary and 00:23:54.250 --> 00:23:57.069 for us to perform the show and him to get to 00:23:57.069 --> 00:23:59.349 be in the audience. Fantastic, fantastic. Yeah, 00:23:59.349 --> 00:24:00.690 they've been here before. They put on a great 00:24:00.690 --> 00:24:02.809 show. They sound wonderful. Yeah, they're a really 00:24:02.809 --> 00:24:05.809 special group and they just do such a variety 00:24:05.809 --> 00:24:09.190 of stuff. Everything from just a cappella to 00:24:09.190 --> 00:24:11.089 playing with orchestra. So it will be quite the 00:24:11.089 --> 00:24:14.710 show. Wonderful. So Kathleen, we've been talking 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:16.829 a lot about the relationships on stage within 00:24:16.829 --> 00:24:19.599 the orchestra. You've been here for six years 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:22.079 now, you say? Yeah, six years. Yeah. So within 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:23.619 those six years, you've had a lot of time to 00:24:23.619 --> 00:24:25.940 listen to a lot of playing from everyone on stage. 00:24:26.299 --> 00:24:28.079 Who's someone on stage who's playing you really 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:31.680 admire? It's really hard to narrow it down to 00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:36.420 just one. I really love the playing in our woodwind 00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:40.069 section. overall, but I really love hearing each 00:24:40.069 --> 00:24:43.549 week the playing of Sarah Honsonoko. She always 00:24:43.549 --> 00:24:45.890 surprises me. Also, the way the cellos are positioned, 00:24:45.890 --> 00:24:48.910 I'm often right in front of the flutes. And there's 00:24:48.910 --> 00:24:52.750 just such lyricism and originality and musicality 00:24:52.750 --> 00:24:55.089 in her playing. And I'm always excited to see 00:24:55.089 --> 00:24:57.049 what she comes up with next. Yeah, no, Sarah's 00:24:57.049 --> 00:24:59.529 a wonderful player and she's very consistently. 00:25:00.670 --> 00:25:04.670 I find her playing consistently revelatory. You 00:25:04.670 --> 00:25:07.279 know, sometimes someone will play Phrase, you 00:25:07.279 --> 00:25:09.619 know where something is like, oh, that's an interesting 00:25:09.619 --> 00:25:10.859 way of playing that phrase I've never thought 00:25:10.859 --> 00:25:14.099 of that or like oh they executed that in a really 00:25:14.099 --> 00:25:16.359 wonderful beautiful way whenever Sarah plays 00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:17.940 something It's like, oh, of course, it goes like 00:25:17.940 --> 00:25:20.720 that. It just seems like duh. Of course. That's 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:23.599 how you want to play it Totally sounds so natural 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:27.880 and and so obvious There's such ease and then 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:30.200 it's it's also different than how you've heard 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:33.180 it before Well, thank you so much Kathleen. This 00:25:33.180 --> 00:25:35.039 was really wonderful to chat with you. Thanks 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:38.960 Adam. It's been fun Notes from this stage is 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:40.960 an independent production of the Calgary Philharmonic 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:43.519 Players Association. The opinions expressed here 00:25:43.519 --> 00:25:45.680 are our own and do not reflect those of the Calgary 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:48.319 Philharmonic Orchestra. Our thanks to Nathan 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:50.900 Chandler for his technical expertise. The music 00:25:50.900 --> 00:25:53.180 you heard on this episode was the Hungarian Rhapsody 00:25:53.180 --> 00:25:55.420 by David Popper performed by Kathleen De Kahn 00:25:55.420 --> 00:25:58.200 and Janet Scott Hoyt. On our next episode in 00:25:58.200 --> 00:26:00.299 two weeks, I'll be talking with Assistant Principal 00:26:00.299 --> 00:26:02.359 Trombone Chris Leslie. Talk to you soon!