Career Profiles and Educational Activities of Ten Canadian String Quartets
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1 1 Career Profiles and Educational Activities of Ten Canadian String Quartets By Gwyneth Rebecca Thomson A Thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto Copywrite by Gwyneth Rebecca Thomson 2019 ii Gwyneth Rebecca Thomson Doctor of Musical Arts Faculty of Music University of Toronto 2019 ABSTRACT: This paper provides a focused look at the career profiles and educational activities of ten Canadian string quartets, concentrating on how they divide their time between performing, teaching, recording, outreach and personal projects. It examines the collaboration between string quartets and larger organisations such as orchestras or educational institutions, and explores what is contracted work and what is self-initiated by the quartets. This paper asks and answers the question, what do Canadian string quartets do besides classical music concerts, and why is it important. Ten groups, five established and five emerging, are examined through the process of interviews and surveys to delve into these issues. This paper begins with a detailed look at the outreach and educational undertakings of many important historical Canadian quartets in the twentieth century. In addition, it introduces the ten Canadian string quartets, providing biographical information about their performing career, notable recordings, and educational posts. Three other sections follow, the first detailing the emerging string quartets singularly, then a comparison of their pursuits. Secondly, a detailed look at the established string quartets one-by-one, and a section which contrasts them. Finally, both emerging and established are examined for connections and similarities as well as distinctions and differences. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page …………...…………….…………………………………….……….….....1 Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………….2 Table of contents …………………………………………………….…………….….3 1 Introduction …………………………….…………………..…….………………..5 1.1 Literature review …………..…………………………………………...…7 1.2 Established string quartet profiles ………………..…...…………………16 1.3 Emerging string quartet profiles ……………………..…………………..20 1.4 The climate of music education in Canada ……………...….……………25 2 Emerging String Quartets …………………………………………………….….37 2.1 Emily Carr string quartet …………………….……………………….….37 2.2 Annex string quartet ………………...……………………...……………43 2.3 Ton Beau string quartet ………………….……………………….……...49 2.4 Odin string quartet ……………………..………………………...………55 2.5 Vaughan string quartet ………………...…………………….…………...59 2.6 Emerging string quartets comparison ……….……………………….…...64 3 Established String Quartets ……………………………………………………....77 3.1 Lafayette string quartet……………………………..……………….….…77 3.2 Penderecki string quartet ………………….…………………..…….……83 3.3 Saint john string quartet …………………………..………………...…….87 3.4 Saguenay string quartet …………………………………………….….….92 3.5 St. Lawrence string quartet …………………………..……………...…….96 3.6 Established string quartets comparison …………….…………….....……105 4 Conclusions ………………………………..………………………………..…...118 5 Appendix A…………………………………………………………………...…129 5.1 Ethics consent form 6 Appendix B ………………………………………………..….…………......…..131 6.1 Interview questions 7 Appendix C …………………………………………………………………...…133 7.1 Recruiting email text 8 Appendix E .……………………………………………….……..………………134 8.1 Emerging String Quartet Comparison Chart 8.2 Established String Quartet Comparison Chart iv 9 Appendix D ………………………………………………………..…………….136 9.1 Commissioned works 10 Appendix E Interview transcripts………………...……………..…………….…142 10.1 Emily Carr……………………………………..……………………..……142 10.2 Annex……………………………………………………………………...150 10.3 Ton Beau…………………………………………………….…………….155 10.4 Odin………………………………………………………..………………162 10.5 Vaughan…….………………………………………..……………...……..167 10.6 Lafayette……………………………………………..…………………….172 10.7 Penderecki……………………………………………………………...….179 10.8 Saint John……………………………………………………..………...…185 10.9 Saguenay……...………………………………...………………...……….192 10.10 St. Lawrence………....………………………………………….………..197 11 Bibliography ………………………………..…………………………………….…205 11 1 Chapter One Introduction Chamber music has always been my greatest musical passion, and I have had the opportunity to work with many amazing colleagues through this fantastic medium. My love of chamber music started early, with a piano trio my teacher started when I was just fourteen years old. I got a chance to work with two other students, collaborating and making musical decisions together. When I was in my last year of high school I was in the midst of deciding whether I wanted to pursue music as a career, and the opportunity of a lifetime came along. My teacher Erica Low was, at the time, the second violinist with the Saint John String Quartet. While the first violinist David Adams was away on a trip, she asked if I would play second violin with the string quartet for a benefit concert they were arranging with a local dance troupe. I had the opportunity to work first hand with a professional ensemble, see how they ran rehearsals, how they settled musical conflicts, and how they shared their passion for the music. It was this amazing opportunity that pushed me to become a violinist, and made me appreciate the medium of string quartet. During my master’s degree, I once again had the opportunity to focus on chamber music as well as educational outreach by working with a classical music ensemble. I attended Memorial University in Newfoundland, and was in the second year of a new program called the Suncor Energy Strings Fellowship. This program brought four string students to the university and provided the opportunity to work as a quartet, performing for the university concert series, playing with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, and teaching for an educational outreach program which was formed by the four 2013-2015 quartet members in partnership with a past 2 master’s student Carole Bestvader. This program, named Strong Harbour Strings, was inspired by Community Music Works and the El Sistema teaching model, and offered daily after school instruction in string instruments under the tutelage of all four string quartet members. While working for this program, I was able to teach weekly lessons, both group and private, and provide concerts with the other faculty. This program continues to enrich the community through school shows, group classes, tours to remote areas of the province and one-on-one instruction. Teaching is something I have always been passionate about, however getting the opportunity to give group classes as an ensemble was something that I had not done before. I was able to see first-hand how impactful a string quartet could be within a community and this in turn inspired me to wonder what else such an ensemble could be capable of accomplishing. I began wondering what other quartets were doing, and noticed that in almost all the biographies I read, there is one sentence that stated something to the effect of “Education is important to us. We care about inspiring a new generation of string players and giving back to the community as an ensemble.” I wanted to know what this sentence really represented, and how much of a string quartet’s career profile is made up of these “other” pursuits. Is it one concert a year, or ten? What ages of students are these quartets working with? What needs within the community are really being filled? What exciting concert projects are being developed? What music are these ensembles utilizing? Who is organizing these projects? Are these ideas sustainable over time, and how are they funded? Historically, string quartets in Canada have been doing this type of outreach for years. Looking into it, I found an abundance of offhand comments mentioning string quartets who toured to remote communities, or who taught through a conservatory, gave masterclasses that were free to the public, featured Canadian compositions in their recitals, or created concerts 3 specifically designed for young audiences. This project has evolved from its original focus to take on a broader scope as I look at all the activities that fall outside of the traditional concert mold. I want to know how much outreach is actually happening, and what form it takes. I feel that this research is both interesting and important. When researching historical string quartets, there was limited information and all data was confined to press releases, newspaper clippings and encyclopedia entries. By interviewing modern string quartets, I have had the opportunity to glean this information first-hand, and gain insight into a topic which has never been researched. I think it will be very insightful to learn more about non-traditional concerts as well as the educational activities these ensembles are passionate about. LITERATURE REVIEW String quartets have been providing school concerts, educational recitals, and extra-curricular music programs in Canada for much of the twentieth and all of the twenty-first centuries. Ensembles such as the Brunswick String Quartet, the Conservatory String Quartet, the Hart House String Quartet, the Orford String Quartet, the Purcell String Quartet, the Toronto String Quartette and the Vághy String Quartet all toured actively throughout Canada during the twentieth century, giving both concerts and school shows in their home towns and in more remote parts of Canada. Historically, string quartets were integral to creating interest in classical string music across Canada by giving school concerts, educational recitals, guest lectures in universities, masterclasses, and free concerts.