UtahViolaSociety

I just want to say a loud and clear THANK YOU to everyone who has responded to our membership drive!

THANK YOU!!! From the bottom of my alto range heart, thank you!

Membership is a Bargain. Yes, a Bargain with Capital B.

Your yearly dues will gain you FREE entrance to Utah Viola Society events. Viola Day!!!2015 is fast approaching and we know you don’t want to miss the masterclass with Rice University’s James Dunham, our ensemble recitals, and our signature alto clef cookies! (And of course, VIOLAPALOOZA!)

We can’t be a healthy and vibrant viola society without members. Without members urging us forward we can’t challenge ourselves to bring you the kinds of Viola Days and Viola Weekends that all of us want to be part of. Thank you so very much to those of you who have joined the Utah Viola Society.

You can pay dues online or send a check. We’re not picky. You don’t even have to be a violist to join, if you love the viola or  love a violist that is reason enough!  Signing up in advance will get you through the line quickly at Viola Day, and you’ll have more time to spend looking at instruments or chatting with viola friends.  If you want to wait until the event to join, you can do that, too! We will be able to take cash, check, or credit card.

We look forward to seeing you next Saturday!!!

October Viola Events – Full Schedule!

Here is a full schedule of our upcoming activities. All events are free to members of the Utah Viola Society!

Becoming a member of the Utah Viola Society couldn’t be easier! Follow this link if you love attending viola events, hearing about recitals, getting together with your fellow violists, and staying connected with all the violists in Utah. The best way you can support us is to join Utah Viola Society today. Your membership helps us continue to present masterclasses, recitals, and all day viola events.

Viola Day!!! 2015, Saturday 10/24, at the University of Utah:

• 9-10 AM – register outside of Thompson Chamber Music Hall and spend a little time with your viola colleagues! (If you become a member using our online form, you won’t have to spend so much time in line!)
• 10-12 – Masterclass with guest artist James Dunham
• 12:00 Pizza Party and social hour – visit our vendors, play their lovely violas, eat some pizza, meet your local viola idols, and hang out with your viola friends!
• 1:00 Demonstration of local instrument makers by Utah Symphony Principal Violist Brant Bayless, then try more violas! Locally made, locally played!
• 2:30 Viola Ensemble Concert featuring ensembles from Utah State University and the University of Utah
• 3:30 Violapalooza!!! Massed performance open to everyone! (Bring your viola so you can play along!!!)

Viola Fun Continues with James Dunham and Paul Katz residency at Utah State University:

• Sunday 10/25, 6:00-8:00 PM. Chamber Music Masterclass with James Dunham, viola, and Paul Katz, cello. Chase Fine Arts Center, room 214.
• Monday 10/26, 4:30-6:30 PM. James Dunham, Viola Masterclass. Caine Performance Hall.
• Tuesday 10/27, 7:30 PM. James Dunham performs the Brahms F-minor Sonata with Pei-Shan Lee, piano, followed by the Brahms B-flat String Sextet featuring the Fry Street Quartet, James Dunham, and Paul Katz. Caine Performance Hall.

Be a part of the Viola Ensemble Concert during Viola Day 2015 – form a group with your students, friends, or colleagues and take the stage!

We will also be organizing a massed performance of Michael Kimber‘s brilliant “Violapalooza!” as the grand finale. Everyone can take part, and you won’t want to miss it. If you would like music in advance to rehearse with your group, or to practice on your own, contact Brad here.

If you haven’t done so, please update your Utah Viola Society Membership today!

This is going to be epic!

 

 

And the countdown begins!
Two weeks from today the Utah Viola Society will hold its Viola Day!!! 2015. Our special guest this year is James Dunham, former violist of the Cleveland String Quartet and current Viola Professor at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music.

Please consider renewing your membership today! Your membership allows us to continue to put on our fabulous recitals, classes, and day-long viola events. Plus, as always, alto clef cookies! Need I say more???

In the meantime, in preparation for Viola Day, here’s an interview with James Dunham, courtesy of the American Viola Society!

Viola Day!!! 2015 is October 24, 2015! We have a full day of viola events planned for you, including a masterclass with Rice University Shepherd School of Music’s Professor of Viola, world renown chamber musician and soloist, James Dunham.

We will feature exhibits by local luthiers, instrument exhibitions, a viola ensemble recital featuring student ensembles and the Utah Symphony Viola Section, and finally an epic read-through of Michael Kimber’s Violapalooza. And did I forget to mention….alto clef cookies?!? (Please bring extra, Brad!!!)

Renew your membership today, or join today if you’re a first time member!  Regular Membership is $20, and Student Membership is $10. Your membership supports us throughout the year and enables us to continue to put on great viola events such as Viola Day!!!

Viola Day!!! 2015 will be October 24 at the University of Utah’s School of Music, David Gardner Hall, 1375 E. President’s Circle.

Registration will begin at 9am.

Join today, and we look forward to seeing you at Viola Day!!! 2015!

 

 

As many of you know, The Utah Symphony family recently lost a member. Our Director of Orchestra Personnel, Eric Johnson, passed away on August 23, 2015.  Eric was not only our Personnel Manager, but he was also a violist, and earned his Bachelor of Music in Viola Performance from the University of Michigan. Though he wasn’t really playing viola very much anymore, I tried to get him to attend Utah Viola Society events. Every year I would jokingly tell him that I was going to sign him up for a membership against his will, but I never could quite get him to attend a Viola Day. I feel certain that if I just had ONE MORE YEAR I could convince him to join and come to an event.

In Eric’s memory I would like to sponsor a one year membership to a reluctant violist. If you know someone that you are sure would enjoy a Utah Viola Society event, but you just can’t quite get them to come, contact me and tell me about them. I will pick the most reluctant violist by October 15 and award them the Eric Johnson Memorial Membership.

Eric’s obituary.

 

Friday, June 6, at noon, Fry Street Quartet Violist Brad Ottesen and Rebecca McFaul will present a joint recital as part of the Logan Tabernacle Concert and Lecture Series.

Brad will be performing the G Major Gamba Sonata by J.S. Bach, together the two quartet members will perform the first Madrigal for Violin and Viola by Bohuslav Martinu, and Becky will play the Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata #5 for Violin and Piano, “Spring.” If you are in Cache Valley this Friday, don’t miss this opportunity to hear this fantastic recital!