Hi there, and welcome to Notes from the Stage,
a show from the musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic.
We're the people playing our hearts out every
week of the orchestra season. I'm Adam Zanatelli.
Usually I play first trumpet in the CPO, but
today I'm your host and I'm here with Elisa Klevenov,
violist in the orchestra. Hi, Elisa. How are
you? Hi, Adam. I'm doing great. How are you doing?
Very well. Thank you. It's nice to see you again
after our summer breaks. How was yours? It was
amazing. I took part in the Verbi Festival, which
was a very intense orchestra program. Oh, that's
in Switzerland, right? Yeah, it's in Switzerland.
And so it was five weeks and it was just Probably
the hardest I've ever worked in my life. So not
much of a summer break for me. This was with
musicians from all over the world, professionals
and students, but some of the professional orchestras
that people were from were like Turino Opera
Orchestra in Italy, San Francisco and San Diego
symphonies. One girl just won Concertmaster of
Iceland Symphony, which was crazy. Oh, cool.
Another girl was from Paris Opera Orchestra and
then cellist from Virginia Symphony and Lisbon
Symphony and also another musician from the Calgary
Phil. Oh, who's that? Alex Beggs, our new violist.
So I got to know him pretty well. Well, tell
him to get in touch with me because I want to
talk to him on this show later this season. Yeah,
totally. Put in a good word. Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah, no, it was really great to get to know
all these people from all these different places
and as well as the students as well that are
still in school from all over the world. Just
a crazy experience to, you know, get to play
with people that, you know, some of them don't
speak English very well, but we all play the
same music and we're all taught the same or,
you know. Performing this music, it's a common
language, even when the spoken language isn't,
you know, isn't necessarily the same for everybody.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. We had a training period before
we actually started performing and we just to
get us to learn how to play together as an ensemble
and. to get to play through the repertoire once
before we have to actually work with the conductors
that are going to be conducting the actual performances.
And we were working with this incredible conductor
named Daniel Blendolf. And there was this one
rehearsal we were working on Mahler's First Symphony.
And Janine Janssen walks in, who is a violin
superstar. And we're all just like. Wow, what's
happening? Super fans of the show will remember
jonka choice episode where she was raving about
janine yansen as well. Yeah, and it was just
crazy to see her just physically there because
I've been listening to her recordings of all
these incredible violin concertos since I was
a little girl and turns out she was married to
the conductor that was rehearsing us. I heard
her play the Britten concerto with Toronto Symphony
when I was in school. It was amazing. Yeah, her
Shostakovich violin concerto is I think one of
my favorites. And just, you know, casually running
into classical music celebrities such as Martha
Argerich, Misha Majski, Timothy Rideout, Antoine
Thomas D, Leonidas Kavakos and many others just
walking around the school and I got to talk to
some of them too and got to hear them play. Some
chamber music such as Misha Majski and Janine
Jansen played beautiful Brahms piano trio together.
I also heard the Schumann piano quartet. the
first one played by my friend, Brian Chang, who
actually played with us a couple years ago. Yeah,
I recall that. He's actually my childhood friend.
We grew up together in Ottawa and he's actually,
I think, one of my oldest friends. So it was
great to see him in Verbier for the past two
summers. He's been playing chamber music there,
but he got to play. the Schumann piano quartet
with Maté Schuss, who used to be the principal
violist of the Berlin Phil, as well as Mark Buchkov,
who's an amazing violinist. And actually, because
of this connection that I have with Brian, I
got to meet the other performers. This was a
crazy experience because I got to meet this violist.
And honestly, when I heard him play this, I've
never heard a viola sound this good. ever in
my life. And I was just fangirling. And we actually
ended up having a great conversation. And I just
asked for a lesson. And he said, yeah. And so
I ended up having like a life changing lesson
with this incredible violist just randomly at
verbiage. Amazing. Yeah, I had like three days
to prepare what I wanted to play for him, which
was stressful but absolutely worth it. He talked
to me about breathing when you're playing, because
apparently I don't breathe properly when I play,
which is absolutely accurate. As a wind player,
as someone whose breath is part of playing my
instrument, I always find it baffling the way
that string players breathe. Yeah. For me, a
bad habit of mine is if I'm playing something
and it's fine, I'm breathing. But when I get
to a hard spot, I just stop breathing. And so
we were talking about that a lot. And he actually
changed my whole... kind of philosophy on how
to like what to think about even when you're
playing not to like micromanage so much and your
technique and just like when you actually get
to a hard spot you just focus in on like how
your body is working and that just honestly changed
my life and yeah so that was that was a crazy
experience that's really interesting i mean i
i think a lot about like When I feel ready for
something, I often have a really great plan,
a flexible plan of like, what am I going to be
paying attention to at any given moment within
this passage or this piece or something like
that. So this is really interesting to hear you
talking about that. Yeah. And then also he's
Hungarian and I played the Bartok viola concerto.
You know, I've studied this piece a lot with
many different teachers, but never with... Someone
that comes from the same country as the composer
and just getting to know like I I had no idea
how to play this piece and getting like him to
like rewire my brain about how in the Hungarian
language the every word, the accent falls on
the first vowel. And so in some of these melodies
that Bartok wrote, since it was an unfinished
concerto, there wasn't a lot of articulation
markings that were written by him. So there's
a lot of versions of this piece. And I play the
most standard version, the Shirley. You know,
Maté told me, you know, you need to you need
to think about like how the language sounds and
incorporate that into your phrasing. And I was
just like. Like that just completely changed
my perception of this piece. So I'm honestly
kind of excited to relearn it when I, when I
do have time. Yeah. I always think like that's
such a hallmark of great music, right? You can
keep coming back to it with new insight gained
over time and see new things in it and find new
depth in it. Right. Whereas I think some inferior
music, like it doesn't really bear that kind
of scrutiny, but something like the Bartok Diolo
concerto sure does. Yeah. And since we only have
three, you know, I only have so many pieces to
choose from. But yeah, there's there's, uh, Walt,
there's Walton and Hindemith. Oh, I was going
to say like Stamets. Well, Stamets is also, I
mean, I guess the three like big kind of post
-classical pieces. Yeah, sure. OK, those three.
And I mean, there's also the Roja, which is less
well known. The one that I usually always play
for people is the Bartok, because I've just had
so much time and so many performance opportunities
with it. Yeah. Yeah, cool. I think my most memorable
concert was the Firebird Full Ballet, the 1910
version that we did with Klaus Makella conducting.
I got to sit for principal for that. And in the
same program, we actually did Isle of the Dead
and Rachmaninoff's fourth piano concerto played
by Yoon Chan Lim. All in the same program. When
I remember when I first saw this program, I said
to Patrick, my partner, I was like, I I don't
envy whoever has to sit principal or concertmaster
for this, because this is a lot like this is
crazy. At first, I thought it was just going
to be the Stravinsky Firebird Suite, which is
standard. And, you know, we've played this many
times. We played it just a couple of weeks ago.
The ballet is crazy. The ballet is insane. This
is one of the hardest things I've ever played.
The suite is like selections of the least abstract
music from the ballet. Exactly. So everything
that they add is like really challenging. And
he actually kept fixing it. Like he kept fixing
the ballet because it was so unplayable what
he wrote originally, which is what we played
at Vervier. And I was thankfully now very grateful
to have sat principal for that because that was
an incredible experience. I got to play a huge
viola solo for the first time. And this was something
I've never done before. And I don't know how
you guys do this all the time. Every concert
you guys have these huge solos. And I just I
mean, it must get easier, right? No, no, no,
it gets better. OK, it doesn't get easier. No,
I mean, for me, like this kind of showed me how,
like, this made me respect you guys so much more,
because you just, like, don't think about it,
it's like, oh, that's, you know, that's their
job, they must be used to it by now. Yeah, like,
I mean, I think about this a lot, I think about
this a lot with Sarah Hansononko, our principal
flute, because she always sounds amazing. And
like, it becomes so normal to hear Sarah sounding
amazing that you just kind of take it for granted.
And every once in a while, I'm like, oh, wait
a second. This is actually very difficult. And
it's amazing that she's doing it so consistently
that I can feel so at ease and take her excellence
so for granted that like, you know, it becomes
not a big deal, but it's always a big deal. It's
always a big deal. Absolutely. And that taught
me playing that. And I just had to navigate this
whole other level of nerves that I've never had
to deal with before because I sit in the section
here in the orchestra. So playing principal for
something was an incredible gift and opportunity,
which I'll always cherish. And it went well.
Even though the solo that I'm talking about,
it was in unison with the oboe and English horn.
It all it worked. It was in tune. But. Yeah,
it was just, uh, and honestly, like we worked
so hard on that as, as an orchestra, we rehearsed
it so much. It was, um, one of those pieces that
we actually spent significant time on during
the training period so that we could actually
like feel at least mildly prepared for when Klaus
came to conduct us. And yeah, I think that concert
went super well and very satisfying. Definitely
a career highlight for me. That's great. Alisa,
you weren't always a violist though. Tell us
about that. Well, I actually switched to viola
quite late by viola switching standards. I switched
when I was 21 and before that I was a violinist
and I was playing violin since I was three years
old and I actually have my undergrad in violin
performance. So yeah, I switched to viola in
my last year of undergrad and then yeah, I got
the job here on viola and I've been playing viola.
See, I switched from violin to viola when I was
11. Okay. And it didn't work out for me. What
did you switch to trumpet? I'm an ex violist.
I have to, I have to admit, unfortunately. Okay.
Unfortunately. Well, nobody's perfect. Yeah.
So making the switch from violin to viola. For
a lay person, they look like similar instruments.
One's a bit bigger. But what's different about
the challenges and the experience of playing
the viola as compared to the violin? It's a good
question. I think the best way to answer this
is to just... Say it all very simply. I hope
I don't offend anyone. The viola is a more difficult
instrument to play in tune and to have to create
a good sound on. It's just the strings are longer.
So it's the all the fingerings are going to be
further apart from each other on violin. It fits
the hand better. At least it fits my hand better.
I have small hands. But all those all those distances
are proportional to the overall length of the
string. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So since the viola
is larger, everything's further away from each
other and the violin smaller, everything's closer
together. And just the violin is just, I think,
naturally a more responsive instrument. Like
you don't have to try super hard to create like
a, you know, punchier, bright sound that, you
know, resonates and cuts through, you know, on
viola, it's I feel like I really had to change
my approach to how I even like begin the note
and my teacher growing up really was about the
whole catch and release on the string like you
catch it with the bow and then you release it
without any pressure and that's really you know
that was how he taught me on on violin but on
viola I think it's even more apparent like I
have to do that way more than on violin, so I
constantly think about that and, you know, always
starting from the string. And I know this isn't
the way everyone plays, it's just my personal
experience. Like I know some great players that
don't start from the string, but this is just
the way I was taught. The repertoire also on
violin is much harder. There's much more variety,
much more difficult concerti, like. much more
technically like crazy all over the fingerboard
type of stuff on viola we don't really have that
so we do have good repertoire on viola but it's
not super like insanely difficult yeah i mean
i think a great composer will understand the
instrument they're writing for and try and exploit
the unique things about it and the strengths
of it so someone writing for the viola like the
violin It's probably sort of missing the point
mostly. Yeah, for sure. So I would say like the
viola is a more difficult instrument to play,
but easier repertoire. But violin is an easier
instrument to play with more difficult repertoire.
Sure. If that makes sense. Sure. Like we don't
have the Tchaikovsky viola concerto on viola
for a reason. It just would. I mean, maybe it
would. But I don't see how that would sound good.
Yeah. Well, when we're coming back to work, we
have this whole calendar in front of us and every
year it seems like, oh, how am I going to do
this? I don't want me and me I'm speaking for
myself. But like when you look ahead to this
season or any season, how does that make you
feel about like the task, the work ahead of you?
And what do you think about this season in particular?
To me, this season stands out a lot because just
looking at the programs, it seems like we have
a lot more classics going on and maybe I'm just
saying that because we're playing a lot more
classics that I enjoy. But honestly, I'm not
super stressed about it. I'm very excited. It's
mostly just excitement, I think, to also get
to work with all these new conductors that are
coming in since we're looking for a new music
director. And it's always great to work with
Ramon Tabar and all these great soloists. um
that are coming long long and timmy chui and
uh gil shaham yeah who was here at the beginning
of the season that was amazing yes that's right
and uh played bethoven concerto and And then,
yeah, we also get to play with Edmonton Symphony
again. I'm super stoked for that. We get to go
on tour. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. To Edmonton
to play the Planets, right? Yeah, well, the Planets.
OK, here's what I think. The Planets is what
that concert is being marketed as. And it's on
the second half of that concert. But the first
half is Become Ocean by John Luther Adams. OK,
I don't know these. Which is, oh, it's so special.
It's so special. I think it's going to be brutal
to play. because it's like very slow textures.
It's about 40 minutes long. It's a very slow
piece. There are three different groups, three
different, quote unquote, orchestras, three different
groups of players on stage. And each of those
groups sort of ebbs and flows on their own schedule.
And only at the exact middle of the piece do
the three groups peak all at once. And the whole
piece is a palindrome. like it's like note for
note. Yeah. Plays out for half and then it's
backwards for the rest of the piece. That's so
interesting. I've never heard of that ever happening.
Yeah, it sort of operates on sort of like a non
-human time scale. I think that's sort of the
idea of the piece. It's really beautiful music.
Interesting. Because, yeah, last time when we
played with Edmonton Symphony, it was so much
fun. We played Mahler Three and it was my first
time ever playing that symphony. It was just
so... It was a very special concert, I think,
especially the one, the second one in Edmonton
that we played. And it's always exciting to play
in a new hall and their hall is so nice. And,
yeah, I'm excited to do that again. I agree.
And Naomi Wu is great. Yeah, absolutely. Something
else I'm really looking forward to is Daphnis
and Chloe's Second Suite. It's one of my favorite
pieces. It's a famous viola excerpt. There's
actually two famous viola excerpts. That's one
that's got excerpts for everybody, I think. What
are the viola excerpts in that one? Well, there's
a... I mean... That shows up as a third trumpet
solo as well and in very awkward key and sometimes
shows up on third trumpet auditions. Yeah, and
then there's the very beautiful... it looks like
it's going to be very easy, but then getting
the right color and when you're playing by yourself
in front of a panel, it's very difficult. But
I can't wait to actually play this in context
and has been one of my favorite pieces ever written
since I was very young. So it's my first time
playing it, so I can't wait. Oh, wow. OK, yeah,
it's so beautiful. And then that's in the springtime.
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that, too.
It's been a long time since we've done that here.
Oh, and then Luca Cazia is doing Prokofiev, Sinfonia
Concertante. with us. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm
excited for that. She's an amazing cellist. Cool.
And then we're doing Shostakovich's 9th Symphony,
which, I mean, playing Shostakovich 5 at Verbier
was my first time playing Shostakovich Symphony
on viola ever. Really? Oh, man. So I was, I've
been waiting for CPO to play. a Shostakovich
symphony, so it's finally happening. And so I
can't wait for this. Yeah. And the ninth is a
bizarre little piece, isn't it? And then, oh,
Diana's playing Brooke Violin Concerto. I love
that piece. This was like my very first serious
violin concerto that I learned. And I've never
actually played it in a professional setting
with with a soloist. So that's going to be really
fun. And then, of course, Verdi's Requiem with
Karen Kamensik. Yeah, she's great. And now she's
our principal guest conductor here at the CPO.
Yes, that's right. Yeah, very exciting It was
great to welcome her earlier this season for
for that concert with Gil Shahan the Beethoven
concerto Absolutely, and we played that spectacular
four interludes from the Strauss opera intermezzo.
What a charming piece Yeah, just delightful music
and she's been here in previous seasons before
she I remember I think I missed the last time
she was here when she did some Scriabin I was
here for Walton that I must have missed the Scriabin.
Yeah, okay So I was there for Walton and I feel
like every season the CPO does like... one symphony
that is extremely difficult and that's very like
under rehearsed and that was this. Well, under
rehearsed because we'd never done anything. Anyone
on stage had ever played that. No, no, no. It
was done once I think in the Bernardi years.
OK. So there were a few people who had played
it. But most people, most people, that's an unknown
piece. Yeah, most people. I didn't even know
Walton wrote symphonies. So that was I mean,
it's a great piece. And then. This past year,
what was the hardest thing for me? I think it
was the Souk Second Symphony. That one was crazy.
I loved playing it though, but that was a great
challenge. Yeah, there's a lot to learn. Yeah,
lots of notes. But it's honestly become one of
my favorite memories with the orchestra, I think.
It's just been such a monumental. work that i
just really enjoyed playing yeah and when you
play something new like that especially when
for most if not all the people on stage like
it's sort of like this joint voyage of discovery
uh and i think it really kind of brings a group
together in a way that playing another Beethoven
five doesn't necessarily right yeah totally it's
a different sort of thing because with the Beethoven
five and Beethoven five is great we're playing
it imminently. I don't think I'm ever going to
get tired of Beethoven five. I mean, I know I'm
saying this very early in my career, but I I
love Beethoven five. Sorry to all of those musicians
out there that are tired of playing it, but I
just style. It's one of my favorites. There's
a reason it's a hit. Yeah, there's a reason for
it. Yeah. You know, like like most of us at the
orchestra, not only are we performers of classical
music, but we're also sort of stewards of. the
art form, you know, and part of that means passing
it on to people who want to learn. And I know
you teach a lot of kids. Tell me about that.
Well, yeah, I have I have a few students right
now and they've all started with me, except for
one. One of them has had a teacher before. And
but for most of them, I've been their first teacher.
And my youngest student right now, I believe,
is four. And my. uh oldest student still quite
young but i think she's 14 right now especially
this girl that's 14 or 15 she started with me
right when i joined the orchestra so almost seven
years ago and bringing someone from Like a young
age that's never played violin before and seeing
them grow and then actually being able to teach
them great music like we just did Mozart's third
violin concerto and this is after Six seven years
of playing the violin. I think that's pretty
good Yeah, and just you know, you're you see
them once a week and you build this relationship
with them and you just watch them grow musically
and as a person, it's just, it's one of my favorite
things to do because of that. And, uh, the youngest
student that I have right now, he's four and
we're currently trying to tackle the twinkle,
twinkle variation. So I'm teaching from like
all levels pretty much right now. And, uh, I
have another student that she's, uh, starting
book five Suzuki book five and My method is always
to start with Suzuki, not the actual Suzuki teaching
method. I teach them to read music, but the books
actually have the way the pieces are organized
or organized in a way that is very helpful. We
start from the very beginning and then it gets
a little harder, a little harder, like very progressively.
So I think that the way the Suzuki books are
organized is perfect for a young person because
it's also like pretty palatable fun pieces that
they enjoy playing and listening to and but once
we graduate Suzuki book six that's when I can
actually start to choose repertoire for them
and I mean we decide together I give them a choice
of a few pieces and then They get to choose what
they'd like to learn and that's when you really
start to see them come out of their shell. And
I'm there now with two of my students and I can't
wait for the others to join me there as well
on that journey because it's the best. Yeah,
absolutely. You know, I always find it interesting
with students trying to figure out like how on
that day or that year, how you can find a way
to communicate to them and reach them about an
idea. And, you know, trumpet lessons start a
lot later in life than violin lessons do, because
you need, you know, you need your grownup teeth
and stuff like that to really to really get going.
But it must be so interesting to see that change
over years and how you're able to communicate
ideas in sort of a more basic way when they're
little and gradually, gradually build on that
and build a more sophisticated understanding
of that. It's like such a microcosm of everything
that we still do as professional musicians. Absolutely.
But also sometimes you'll be telling your student
the same thing over and over again, and then
you go away for a while so they have to study
with someone else and not someone else tells
them the same thing that you told them and then
they finally hear it. So that's always interesting,
too. It's like, OK, I've been telling you to
bend your thumb. You're bold for. Two years now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Needed to hear it from someone
else. Absolutely. Look, my wife never reads a
book I recommend until she gets a recommendation
for it from someone else. I think this is a universal
thing. Yeah. So when you're not playing the viola
and you're not teaching, what do you like to
do with your spare time? Well, I have a dog and
I love spending time with her. We go for walks
every day with my partner, Patrick Staples. He's
in the orchestra as well. That's kind of our
favorite thing to do together is just to go to
the dog park and spend some time there. And then
I also love to cook. I've been experimenting,
making new recipes and whatever I can. And yeah,
it's just become like one of my favorite hobbies
is to just like try new food and new recipes
and see what I can make. And yeah, not super
exciting, but OK, OK. So let's get our priorities
first here. First, of course, is dog and then
then cooking and Patrick. We'll get there. So
what's your dog's name? She's her name is Tosca.
She's named after the opera Tosca. Yeah. Oh,
if there was if there was an orchestra job where
you could just play Tosca every week and nothing
else, sign me up. Yeah. It's my favorite opera.
Yeah. Yeah. For me, though, I mean, I know some
people love opera a lot. I like playing opera
occasionally, but I really. like respect people
that can do this as their like actual job is
just playing opera all year round. Like to me,
that's crazy. It's hard. It's a very different,
very different task. Absolutely. And then just
playing on stage. Yeah. And I and just, you know,
mentally, too, just like being in the pit, like
in the darkness, you don't really see your audience
and can't really connect that way. And operas
are generally quite longer than the. Concerts
that we play on stage. So just more physically
demanding as many as well as mentally. So yeah,
I think it's great that we do both. Absolutely.
You know, I often extol the virtues of playing
in a midsize orchestra like the CPO, because,
you know, if I were in the Toronto Symphony,
I wouldn't play any opera, right? They occasionally
would probably do an opera in concert, but we
play three operas a year and. I think it really
helps us as an ensemble and it helps each of
us as players because we really have to open
our ears in a way that, you know, it's a it's
a different, different set of challenges, a different
set of constraints than when you're playing concert
music. What have been your favorite operas since
like in the past few years? Oh, boy. We've played.
I forget what is in what year. But Tosca is my
favorite opera written before 1900. OK, we played
it. two or three times since I've been here,
and oh god, it's my favorite. There was a very
memorable performance of Die Todesstadt by Eric
Korngold with Bramwell Tovey conducting. It was
extremely special. That opera is spectacular
music. It's deeply moving. Yeah, I would travel
to go hear that opera. Okay, wow. Yeah, it's
a really good one. For me, I think my favorite
opera that we've played was Verdi's Macbeth.
Oh, yeah, that's great. I love that. Yeah. And
you guys sounded so good in the brass. I mean,
you guys always sound good, but I remember feeling
like shivers. Yeah. Verdi writes in such a such
a unique sort of language for brass. Yeah. And
you'll hear that in the Verdi Requiem coming
up later this season as well. Yeah. Yeah. Big
fun. Big fun. And Tosca is an Australian shepherd.
She's a toy Aussie. Yeah. So she, um, she's just
much smaller than the regular Australian shepherd.
Yeah. Still has the same energy. Wonderful. Yeah.
That's a lot. Yeah, no, absolutely. But also
she, she just loves to hang out with us at home.
She's not, she knows when to turn her energy
on and off. So when we're outside, she's crazy.
And then when we go home, she's very chill. So
it's, it's the best of both worlds. Perfect.
Yeah. They're sprinters. Yeah. Okay. Cooking.
What sort of things have you been cooking? Has
there been a specific book or handful of books
that you've been delving into? I love smitten
kitchen. Most of my recipes come from smitten
kitchen. Um, yeah, I mean, I'm, I've been loving
experimenting with making Italian food and, uh,
risotto tomato sausage risotto that I really,
it's been a staple in my household and, uh, bolognese,
uh, rigatoni alla vodka. Um, What else have I
made spaghetti with meatballs, of course and
Trying to think of I'm sure there's more those
are just like the basic basics But yeah, and
you've been going to spit in kitchen for those
recipes, too. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah Yeah, so
so like straightforward and not super difficult
Yeah, yeah Italian food isn't complicated. No,
no, you know any food can be complicated in like
a fine dining setting, but Italian food is about
That's uncomplicated. Uncomplicated. Quality
ingredients. Yeah. Let them shine. And in that
way, I always think that Italian food and Japanese
food have a lot in common in terms of like have
great ingredients and don't do much to them.
My favorite restaurant actually in the city is
an Italian -Japanese fusion. Oh, tell me about
this. It's called Carino. I've never, I don't
know this one. It's on Fourth Street. It's a
hidden gem for sure. Like in Mission? In Mission.
Okay, okay. It's so good. Okay. We've gone there
a couple times. It's just been... Absolutely.
Like you don't expect that it's going to taste
that good because the fusion doesn't sound particularly
like edible, but it is. And it's so incredible.
I highly recommend. Yeah. Cool. I'll definitely
check that out. Put it on my list. Yeah. OK.
Now, what about coffee shops in town? I don't
drink coffee. It just like makes me really shaky,
really anxious. And are you a tea drinker or
no caffeine at all? I, I'm a tea drinker. Okay.
Tell me about the teas that you like. I like,
you know, I used to love to go to David's tea,
but since they shut everything down, I've been
trying to just find like, you know, at Farmer's
Markets, just like local. I have a recommendation
for you. The true David's tea, David Sussman's
tea, the place that David Sussman goes for tea,
which is the tea trader in Ramsey. They used
to be right in the main dragon, Inglewood. Now
they're in Ramsey. They're amazing. Okay. When
I, when I reduced my coffee intake, I, I went
there on David Sussman's recommendation and I
said, I don't want to think about tea. Can you
like give me a sampler or something? And they,
you know, whisked into action and provided me
with a wonderful variety of things. I've sort
of figured out what I like and I'm well stocked
now. So I'm really, really excited about that.
So yeah, you got to go. I'll send you home today
with, uh, with some stuff to try. Sure. Yeah.
Excellent. Yeah. Sensational. So now we've talked
about dogs and cooking, but as for Patrick, you
better tell him to get on this podcast so I can
talk to him, because this episode's about you,
not about him. Absolutely. Him working on it.
So, Lisa, this is now, I believe, your seventh
year in the orchestra. You've heard a lot of
great playing from a lot of great colleagues
on stage. Who inspires you in the orchestra?
This is a tough question. There are so many amazing
musicians in our orchestra. Something I've learned
over the years is that making music feels even
more inspiring and special when I get to share
those memories with people that I love, one of
which is of course Patrick Staples, who is an
excellent bass player in the CPO and inspires
me in many different ways, not just musically,
as well as my close friends Maria Vandersloot
and Aaron Burkholder, both incredible violinists.
These are my super close people who I absolutely
love and cherish making music with. However,
there's one other person I'd like to give a shout
out to, one of our cellists, Danny Posada. I
feel like as section players, we may not get
as much attention as our principal colleagues,
so I wanted to share that anytime I'm rotated
into the inside of the third stand, Danny is
usually rotated in to sit right next to me, and
his sound is quite something. Like, my most recent
memory... was sitting next to him for Scheherazade,
which we played last season. And he was so much
fun to sit next to. He has such a grounded, direct
sound. So, yeah, I'm a huge fan of Danny's sound.
Also, one more person. Gwen Claussen is the piccolo
queen. Anytime that she has one of those quiet
piccolo solo moments, it just shivers everywhere.
And I just wanted to shout out to her as well.
Wonderful. Oh, that's so great. Well, Elisa,
thank you so much for sitting down with me. It's
always great to chat with you and good luck for
the rest of this season. Thank you so much for
having me. This was so much fun. Notes from the
Stage is an independent production of the Calgary
Philharmonic Players Association. The opinions
expressed here are our own and do not reflect
those of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra.
Our thanks to Nathan Chandler for his technical
expertise. The music in this episode was the
Sonata for Violin and Piano by César Franck,
here performed on viola by Alisa Klebanoff and
pianist Fred Lacroix. On our next episode in
two weeks, I'll be talking with Assistant Principal
Double Bass, Jonathan Yeo. Talk to you soon!