I often get the question, “Where do you find these musicians?” This happens most often after someone has particularly enjoyed a performance from a group that he/she had not heard of previously.
It seems to me the best way to answer this would be to tell you how we found the artists for the current season.
Our first concert with musica intima was actually the last one to be booked. There is no secret to finding this group. This is an example of maintaining connections with the talent in our own region, balancing international artists with Canadian artists, and making sure that we had at least one example of vocal music in our series.
We enjoyed the Butter Quartet recently. Their agent reached out to us and promoted them. This was an agent we had worked with in the past, the Diderot Quartet in 2019 being the most recent example. YouTube is an important resource to help us decide if the group is one whose musicality we are confident in and if they will connect well with our audience.
Our next concert illustrates the importance of connections and working together. It was the goal of another society in Greater Vancouver to bring Stefan Jackiw and his colleagues to their series. They looked for someone else who could present them in this area to help save on travel costs. We cannot agree to all such offers, but in this case we jumped at it, especially since I have had my eye on the cellist Arnold Choi for some time.
We generally begin our season planning with the search for someone who will take on the role of clinician at our annual masterclass. It was a year for piano. We have had some prominent names in the past—Jane Coop, Charles Richard-Hamelin, David Jalbert. This year a recommendation came from board member Joyce Janzen, a piano teacher and executive with the BC Registered Music Teachers’ Association. She was familiar with Jarred Dunn and with how well he had been received in the community of piano teachers as performer and instructor.
Violinist Johan Dalene came to us when an international agent reached out looking for an additional appearance for him in connection with a performance already booked in Vancouver. We first connected with this agency in a similar context when we were fortunate enough to bring the remarkable Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his sister Isata in 2017. This process goes both ways. We are currently looking for partners to join us in bringing someone who is very high on our wish list in a future season.
Finally Quartetto Gelato came out of a conversation with the agent who brought us Duo Concertante. She was promoting a different group, but one that did not fit our season plans. Quartetto Gelato was on her roster of artists, and they had been popular here in past visits, the latest being in 2007. She offered us complimentary tickets to one of their performances last season in the Lower Mainland. Our vice president Emma Sweeney was able to attend and gave an enthusiastic report.
This gives a good, but not comprehensive, overview of how we find artists. Many musicians reach out themselves. Molly Carr, the violist we had last season, is an example. When people reach out, we need to exercise due diligence before making a decision.
We keep an eye on talent with local connections. Pianist Laura Altenmueller is the most recent example, joining the likes of tenor Colin Balzer, mezzo-soprano Megan Latham, and pianist Paul Williamson.
There is a community of musicians, agents, and presenters (that’s us). Having connections and paying attention are key elements.
And then there was George Zukerman. I will conclude this little series next week with a look at the contributions of this amazing individual.
John Wiebe - President
The Valley Concert Society