On Saturday, October 15 at 4pm in Dumke Recital Hall, join the Utah Viola Society as we celebrate the legacy of David Dalton in recital. This recital was curated by Dr. Dalton’s former student and assistant, Utah violist and BYU alumna Emily Barret Brown. Utah Viola Society is very grateful to Emily for her work and time putting together this recital!
Performers include Leslie Richards, Emily Barret Brown with Melissa Heath, soprano, Caryn Jackson Bradley, Megan Mason, LeeAnn Morgan. (Plus a special surprise! Shhh! Don’t tell!)
Each of the performers on Saturday have a direct connection to David Dalton in that they were all private students of his, whether at the college level or college prep. Some have double connections, for instance Megan Mason and Caryn Jackson studied both with Emily Brown and David Dalton.
All of the repertoire to be performed has a David Dalton connection. The Marais, Donizetti, Minsky, and Nin are all works that David Dalton transcribed and/or edited and saw to publication. The Telemann is a small representation of a larger body of work that David helped William Primrose edit and get to publication. (LeeAnn Morgan did her DMA dissertation on this subject and will be speaking a little about it at the recital.)
About her years with David Dalton, Emily recalls, “I remember playing the puffy marshmallow game with DD and some other students at his home during my college years (in which you pass a bag of marshmallows around the circle, keep adding to the stash in your mouth and have to say something like “I can fit X-number of marshmallows in my mouth!” without spitting, swallowing or gagging. I remember that he won.
I remember that Hiroko (Primrose) and David jointly decided that I was to become a violist when I was about 16. After taking lessons with David Dalton for about a year, I remember him saying something to the effect of “You are starting to sound like a real violist.” He transformed my bow arm from that of a violinist to what he would call an “echt” violist (German for “true”). I also remember him trying to communicate to me exclusively in German during a lesson even though he knew my German was lousy :). From the first viola congress I attended at age 15 and the 8 or more I’ve been to since, David Dalton has introduced me to some of the finest violists in the world. He also brought them to BYU. We would sit and have lunch with them, I got to play for many of them in masterclasses and come to understand a little better what a wealth of opportunity there was and is for our great instrument. I credit David Dalton with opening my eyes to possibility and for continually showing me the best the world has to offer.”
Join us to celebrate the legacy of David Dalton on Saturday, October 15 at 4pm in Dumke Recital Hall as part of Viola Day 2016!
Leslie Richards, viola
Gaetano Donizetti (Edited by David Dalton)
Melissa Heath, soprano
Emily Barrett Brown, viola
Lara Lambert Allen, piano
Aaron Minsky (Arranged by David Dalton)
Caryn Jackson Bradley, viola
Joaquin Nintendo (Arranged by David Dalton)
I. Montanesa
II. Granadina
Megan Mason, viola
The Dalton-Primrose Connection
Join us on Viola Day 2016 for a fascinating look at the relationship between David Dalton and William Primrose. The presentation entitled “The Dalton-Primrose Connection” was originally prepared by Violist Dwight Pounds for the 2016 American Viola Society Festival at Oberlin. He explores aspects of the lives of both men, how their paths came to cross, the writing of David Dalton’s books about Mr. Primrose, the building of the Primrose Archive, and ultimately how Mr. Primrose came to Utah and spend his final years in Provo. The second half of the presentation is a viewing of a film produced by KBYU in 1979 entitled “William Primrose: A Violist’s Legacy.”
(If you’ve never met Dwight Pounds, I encourage you to attend an American Viola Society event and get to know him. He is a wonderful photographer, and many of his photographs can be seen at the Primrose Archive in Provo. He’s been honored with multiple AVS awards and International Viola Society awards, and has served multiple terms on the AVS and IVS boards. He’s traveled the world in service to the viola, his memory is impeccable and the stories he tells are rich with viola history. He is a wonderful friend to many people, including David and Donna Dalton.)
Sadly Dwight is unable to join us for Viola Day 2016 to make his presentation but the Utah Viola Society is grateful that he will share his work with us! Our wonderful viola colleague Dr. Claudine Bigelow will be coordinating the presentation, with David and Donna’s son Aaron Dalton giving the talk.
Join us to discover the link between David Dalton and William Primrose, and to learn about the Primrose legacy, including an informal question and answer session with Myrna Layton about the Primrose Archive. If you’ve ever wondered why being a violist in Utah is so amazing, you’ll find out all the answers at this presentation! (Hint: It’s because of David Dalton.)
The Dalton-Primrose Connection will begin at 2:30pm in Dumke Recital Hall as part of Viola Day 2016.
Focus on Utah Viola Society Sponsor and Luthier Carrie Scoggins
Carrie Scoggins has been a long time supporter and Utah Viola Society Sponsor. Come see and hear her violas in action as part of Viola Day 2016 at our Instrument Demonstration on Saturday, October 15, 2016! Read in her own words about her shop, playing and performing as a violinist/violist, and what she likes best about playing and making violas! We deeply appreciate Carrie and thank her for her sponsorship of Viola Day and her support of the Utah Viola Society!
“I have been a violin player since I was 9 years old. I fell in love with the Viola when I was in college. Our school orchestra had only three viola players and they asked for recruits. I jumped on the opportunity, took my savings and bought a viola. I loved playing in the lower register- kind of rattles your brain. 🙂 I also discovered that I was in high demand for gigs. Everyone was looking for a good violist; violinists are a dime a dozen but good viola players are harder to come by. My violin teacher always said playing the inside parts (ie: 2nd Violin or Viola) was often more challenging than a 1st Violin part. You had to be able to count and be a steady, strong player to hold the ensemble together. I currently play with the Salt Lake Symphony as a violinist (although I use to play in the viola section years ago!)
I am enjoying building instruments. Although I play violin, I like the lower register instruments, violas and cellos. Violists are very open to new instruments and there is such a variety of sizes and shapes. That also has its challenges because each player has different needs. Years ago I built a number of violas for David Dalton’s students – he insisted that they were to be 16.5” body and made from poplar. There are more choices for viola woods. The lower register of the instrument allows for softer woods than maple to be used, such as poplar and beech. My latest violas were made from Big Leaf Maple, slab cut, which is a little softer than European maple. I enjoy trying new things with violas.
I moved to Salt Lake City, after three years of college, in 1979 to attend the Violin Making School of America. At the time it was the only school of its kind in the United States. I graduated in 1983 and then taught at the school from the fall of 1984 to spring 1988. I taught varnish and set up of instruments and my husband, Michael, taught the construction part. We opened our shop downtown in the summer of 1988.
As far as my other interests I like to ride bicycles, more often I mountain bike right now, but I used to race road bikes competitively. I ride a motorcycle also. I have a thing for going fast – when I was a little sprout, just four years old, I got a medal (which I still have!) for a downhill skiing race in Sun Valley, Idaho. I fly fish and go hiking when possible.
Recently I have downsized from our shop of 28 years in downtown Salt Lake City and am now working out of my home in Cottonwood Heights. I have some student instruments available but am doing more new instrument making. I am still available for repairs and professional level set up and adjustment of instruments.”
Scoggins & Scoggins Violin Shop Inc.
Carrie Scoggins
Maker of Violins, Violas, Cellos
Repair, Sales
7644 S. Twin Lake Circle
Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121
801-943-0496
By Appointment Only
Don’t miss hearing Carrie’s lovely violas as part of Viola Day 2016!!
Q & A with Guest Artist Patricia McCarty
Get to know our guest artist, Patricia McCarty! In addition to giving a masterclass at Viola Day, she will be performing in recital with her duo partner, pianist Aram Arakelyan. On the program will be the Locatelli Sonata in G Minor, Borisovsky’s arrangement of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Joachim’s Hebrew Melodies, and the Sonata for Viola and Piano by Arthur Benjamin. Don’t miss this!
You’ve had an incredibly successful and interesting career – full of variety. Could you give us a brief history of your professional life as a violist?
My first job after completing graduate studies at the University of Michigan was a faculty position at Ithaca College, where there was a faculty string trio, quartet and many other diverse chamber music opportunities. After two years in Ithaca, I joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as assistant principal, remaining there for fourteen years. Teaching appointments since that time have included the Boston Conservatory and festivals such as Aspen, Sarasota, and Bowdoin. I currently teach at the Meadowmount School of Music and also coordinate chamber music for the 200 students there each summer. Performing concerti, recitals and chamber music, researching neglected repertoire, writing articles and recording have always been important activities and continue to keep me busy!
Who were your teachers, and your most important musical influences?
As a very young student growing up in Wichita, KS, I was fortunate to have excellent teachers in Eldon Lipp, who tirelessly taught me the bow strokes of every Mazas etude (whether I had properly prepared it or not), and later Joshua Missal, whose vast music library and keen interest in everything composed for viola enabled him to introduce me to a world of tremendously varied, level-appropriate repertoire in which I could discover musical expression while working on doable technical improvement. He also sparked my interest in neglected and non-mainstream composers. Now that I work with high school and college students at Meadowmount each summer, I appreciate more than ever how crucial these two teachers were to my early development.
The most important musical influences to me were my primary teacher, Francis Bundra, with whom I studied during high school summers and for six years at the University of Michigan, and Joseph Silverstein, with whom I studied chamber music at Tanglewood and who became my mentor and friend for more than forty years.
Some point in nearly every lesson I teach can be traced to something I’ve learned from these two artists. While he was a technical taskmaster who believed it essential for a violist to study all of the Rode, Dont and Gavinies etudes, Mr. Bundra also insisted that “without a sound, you don’t have anything.” He taught me to listen critically to myself for both technical and musical priorities, and to seek tone colors from my imagination which would serve the composer’s intent.
Mr. Silverstein taught me the lesson of my life about bow control that summer at Tanglewood, and my education continued later in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, watching and imitating him to figure out the logic behind his designer bowings, which made the strings sound as nuanced and sparkling as a giant chamber ensemble. I think of him, his daily work ethic and his common sense principles of playing whenever I practice scales in parallel 3rds or 4ths, or two finger scales up one string, or virtually any Dounis exercises, and most especially when figuring out bow distribution.
Have there been certain performances or musical experiences, at any stage, that stand out amongst the rest?
So many concerts are memorable for a host of different reasons…certainly performances abroad stand out for the excitement of performing for a different culture. London’s Wigmore Hall is definitely the most exquisite and inspiring recital acoustic; a Telemann Concerto outdoors in the town square in Montserrat, Spain, and chamber music in a small fishing village in Hokkaido, Japan, were wonderfully unusual venues with appreciative audiences. Collaboration with Lou Harrison and his gamelan ensemble, commissioning Keith Jarrett’s concerto Bridge of Light, performing the Brahms songs with Maureen Forrester, many chamber music concerts as well as performances of the Mozart Symphonie Concertante and Arthur Benjamin Romantic Fantasy with Joseph Silverstein – are some of my favorite experiences.
Can you tell us a little bit about your instrument, and your history together?
My viola and I have been together since my senior year of high school! It was made by Joseph Napoleon Brugere, in Mirecourt in 1899, and measures 16.5 inches with a neck nearly as slender as a violin. My bows are both by Pierre Vidoudez; the bow I use most of the time was a gift from the maker whom I met during the Geneva Competition in 1972.
Could you talk a little bit about your program, and how you chose this repertoire?
The Locatelli Sonata is an old favorite, for its quirky syncopation and jazziness which seem ahead of its time. I like to program music inspired by literary works or art for its potential to connect with the listener on two fronts. Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, and the Prokofiev ballet has long been beloved in the orchestral format. Vadim Borisovsky’s arrangements, challenging and especially well written for the viola, preserve the imagery of the original score and offer the violist a tutorial in old world style through his printed fingerings. Joachim was inspired to compose his Hebrew Melodies by Lord Byron’s poems of the same title. A violist himself, Joachim uses the somber voice of the viola to capture the serious and contemplative tone of the poems. Arthur Benjamin is one of a surprising number of composers to have fought in World War I. A gunner with the Royal Flying Corps, he was shot down over Germany and taken prisoner. He later became conductor of the Vancouver Symphony and composed his Viola Sonata for William Primrose during this time. It is a brooding, exotic sounding work, and the third movement’s rumba reference is especially fun.
Do you have any words of wisdom for young, aspiring music students?
In all of the music, scales and etudes you practice, remember that the end product needs to express some character, mood or emotional content. Solving technical problems is just the tip of the iceberg, and if you are spending all your practice time just getting left hand fingers to the right spot on the fingerboard up to tempo, while tone is suffering, then you need to rethink your practice strategy or consider a less difficult repertoire choice at this stage of your development. It is an age old axiom that your etudes should be at least as difficult, or more difficult, than your repertoire, so that you bring what Carl Flesch called “a surplus of technique” to your repertoire. And ideally these etudes, while challenging, can be produced to your personal best at the rate of one or more per week. Years of them really add up to something important for a lifetime, especially when practice time becomes precious.
Listen to the recorded history of your instrument. YouTube videos through earbuds on your smart phone are certainly a quick and convenient reference, but to truly discern the expressive subtleties of what string players can do with bow speed, vibrato variation, shift timing, articulation variety, contact point, etc., there is nothing like hearing a vinyl LP or CD fill a room with sound through speakers. In lieu of this experience, a CD player and/or turntable plus fine headphones is also a valuable resource. Make sure you are really actively listening for details beyond the superficial “how does this piece go?”.
Love the pursuit. Realize that your years of study with a teacher are relatively few, and that you are preparing for a lifetime of learning new repertoire and perfecting technical skills relying upon your own brain. Become multi-faceted – develop expertise in writing, public speaking, business, marketing, time management, fund raising – anything which can help you bring classical music to a wider audience. You will wear many hats in this profession!
What are your interests or passions away from the instrument?
I enjoy hiking in the woods with my dogs, reading mystery novels, baking anything chocolate, and downhill skiing
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Introducing Guest Artists Patricia McCarty and Aram Arakelyan
As part of Viola Day 2016 festivities, the Utah Viola Society is pleased to present a recital by our special guest artist and world renowned viola soloist Patricia McCarty with pianist (And University of Utah grad!) Aram Arakelyan!
Ms. McCarty’s recital will feature works by Pietro Locatelli, Sergei Prokofiev, Joseph Joachim, and Arthur Benjamin.
From Bach to Keith Jarrett, PATRICIA McCARTY’s performances on five continents have been acclaimed for communicating “a dark tone analogous to the quality of a fine tawny port” [Strad], & “the fine blue-flamed torch of her mind” [Ottawa Citizen]. Her recordings featuring works by Clarke, Bach, Telemann, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann, Fuchs, Joachim, Jarrett, Bliss, Harrison and Benjamin have won international accolades, LShe has appeared as soloist with the Detroit, Houston, Kyoto and Shinsei Nihon symphonies, Boston Pops, Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Turiae Camerata of Valencia, and in recitals including New York, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Valencia, Geneva, Caracas, five International Viola Congresses, and a debut at London’s Wigmore Hall hailed by the Times to be “an outstanding exhibition of string playing of the highest American class.” Winner of the First Silver Medal and Radio Prize in the Geneva International Competition when she was eighteen, Ms. McCarty graduated the following year magna cum laude from the University of Michigan, where she studied with Francis Bundra. She has also been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Grants and the John Knowles Paine Award for performance of new American music.
As chamber musician Ms. McCarty has performed at festivals including Aspen, Marlboro, Tanglewood, Sarasota, Bay Chamber Concerts, Bowdoin, Aria (Canada), Hokkaido (Japan), and the Australian String Academy. Former member of the Lenox Quartet, she has also toured with Music from Marlboro, Boston Chamber Music Society, and Boston Symphony Chamber Players, with whom she has recorded works by Brahms and Dvorak. Other collaborations include musicians as diverse as composer Lou Harrison and his gamelan ensemble, contralto Maureen Forrester, violinist Joseph Silverstein, and jazz pianist Keith Jarrett, whose work Bridge of Light for viola and orchestra Ms. McCarty commissioned, premiered and has recorded for ECM.
She has performed numerous world premieres, and her research of viola repertoire and pedagogy has been published in Strad, Symphony Magazine, Strings, American Viola Society Journal, American String Teacher and the book Playing & Teaching Viola, published in 2005 by American String Teachers Association. She has given master classes throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, Venezuela, Australia and Spain, and her translated articles have appeared in Korean and Dutch string teaching publications. Former assistant principal violist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Patricia McCarty presently is faculty member of the Meadowmount School of Music, where she teaches viola, chamber music, and professional orchestral audition preparation. Her former students are employed in professional orchestras, chamber ensembles, university and pre-college faculties worldwide
Armenian pianist, ARAM ARAKELYAN performs as a collaborator throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Aram wears many hats, from collaborative partner to a chamber musician, to an orchestral and choral keyboardist, an arranger, a class ballet pianist, and sometimes even a graphic designer.
Aram has been an official pianist for the 2014 Primrose International Viola Competition and the 2015 International Horn Symposium. He has also been on staff at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, and the Meadowmount School of Music in upstate New York. He has been one of the primary pianists in the viola studio of Donald McInnes. And for the past three years, Aram was the pianist for the USC Thornton Chamber Singers, under the direction of Jo-Michael Scheibe, with whom he performed at the 10th World Symposium on Choral Music in Seoul, Korea, and 12th China International Chorus Festival in Beijing, China. Among the conductors Aram has worked with are Gerhardt Zimmermann, Jerry Junkin, Larry Livingston, Barlow Bradford, Maria Guinand, In-Gi Min, Scott Yoo, Robert Spillman and Helmuth Rilling.
Aram holds degrees from the University of Utah, the University of Texas at Austin, and recently completed a Doctoral Degree in Musical Arts at the University of Southern California, where he held a teaching assistantship in the area of Keyboard Collaborative Arts. His mentors have included Susan Duehlmeier, Anne Epperson, Norman Krieger and Alan Smith. Aram is currently a member of the faculty of new Collaborative Piano program at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Utah Viola Society Viola Day 2016 will take place on October 15 and 16, 2016 at the University of Utah School of Music. Patricia McCarty’s recital will be Sunday, October 16 at 7 pm at Dumke Recital Hall. The recital admission will be free for Utah Viola Society members, and University of Utah students and employees; $10 suggested donation for the general public.
New Group and Family Pricing!!
Are you a youth orchestra or school conductor and want to register your entire viola section for the Utah Viola Society? Are you a studio teacher who wishes your students would attend viola day? Now you can register a group at a discounted rate! Register your group of 5 students and pay for 4! Register your group of 8 for the price of 6! Register your group of 10 for just the cost of 7 student memberships!
Are you a parent who wishes to attend Viola Day 2016 with your child? Register your child at the student rate, and pick up a membership for yourself at the student rate!
Contact President Brad Ottesen or Treasurer Julie Edwards to arrange the group rates. If you’re registering a child and yourself at the student rate, pay via Paypal and just include a note with your payment indicating “Family Membership,” and include the names of everyone you wish to register.
Get ready!
It’s that time again! The leaves are changing, the nights are getting cooler, and the Alto Clef cookies are on their way! Viola Day 2016!!!!! It’s time to renew your membership! Luckily joining is easy, you can use our easy Paypal button or send our Treasurer a check! Skip the line on viola day and spend your time hanging out with your favorite violists!
Membership is a steal! You’ll get to attend all of our Utah Viola Society events for the year, including Viola Day 2016 featuring guest artist in masterclass and recital Patricia McCarty, Meet your Maker instrument demos, and a fascinating presentation which explores the deep connection between Dr. David Dalton and William Primrose. We will also be presenting our UVS Recital, and our Orchestral Excerpts seminar this season, so there are many viola events in which to participate and enjoy.
Utah Viola Society can also help you advertise your viola event, including your studio recitals, a fabulous recital you might be giving, or even if you’d just like to hang out with violists, we can help make that happen!
And did I mention…ALTO CLEF COOKIES???? Join today!!!
