In Conversation with Golden Violin Award Winners
The 2020-2021听Golden Violin Award will be given out to one extraordinary string player this weekend.
厂别尘颈-贵颈苍补濒:听Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. (Webcast from Pollack Hall)听
Final:听Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. (Webcast from Pollack Hall)听
Established in 2006 by businessman and philanthropist Seymour Schulich,听the competition has grown from an internal听juried听nomination process听to听a听public听recital format听with听semi-final and final rounds听showcasing听the best of the Schulich School of Music.听
The Golden Violin Award, valued this year at $30,000,听is presented to an outstanding string player currently enrolled at听the Schulich School of Music. The winner receives听not only the generous听scholarship听but also听a smaller likeness of the violin in the form of a 14-karat gold lapel pin听and a concert during the Schulich concert season.听
Growing out of a desire to select a string player who showed exceptional promise as a musician and听community leader,听this prestigious award has led to听the flourishing of听numerous听careers and artistic听endeavours听on the Canadian and international听music scenes.听听
In celebration of听this year鈥檚 15th听anniversary, some past听winners听share thoughts on听the significance of听their time at Schulich and the听enduring听impact听of听the Golden Violin Award.
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What听advice听would you give to your starting-at-university听self?听
Aaron Schwebel (BMus'10 | GVA Winner 2009-2010):听Don鈥檛 work too hard! Make sure you give yourself the time and space to grow as an artist and a human. The experiences and relationships you have shape what kind of musician you are, and these formative years of your adult life are so important for making meaningful and lasting connections.听
Isaac Chalk (LMus鈥�08,听Art Dip鈥�10, BMus鈥�12 |听GVA Winner 2011-2012):听It's important to take all aspects of your university education seriously, not just practicing!听
Ewald Cheung (BMus鈥�13, Art Dip鈥�14, Gr Dip in Music鈥�15, Current MMus | GVA Winner 2010-2011):听Don鈥檛 be afraid of change. Stay open-minded and embrace new challenges.听
Victor听Fournelle-Blain (Art Dip鈥�15 | GVA Winner 2013-2014):听Aim for consistency, trust the process, don't try to take shortcuts or accomplish miracles. Also, get more sleep and meditate!听听
Joshua听Morris (MMus鈥�17, Gr Dip in Perf鈥�18 | GVA Winner 2016-2017):听Use your creative imagination! It鈥檚 easy to have听too听narrow a focus and end up feeling stuck with what you鈥檙e doing.听 When I鈥檓 feeling that way, I鈥檝e found it helpful to take a step back and really let my imagination run wild. Even if some of the resulting ideas seem overly ambitious or silly, they often end up turning into something useful, like a different practice strategy or a new programming/performance idea.听
Byungchan听(Chan) Lee (BMus鈥�15, Art Dip鈥�16 | GVA Winner 2014-2015):听The demands of being a musician today are in constant flux. Stay curious, open-minded, and always 鈥済o for the music鈥� as my former teacher Denise Lupien aptly put.听
Aaron Chan (BMus鈥�20) | GVA Winner 2020-2021:听Make mistakes! Don鈥檛 be afraid to be a fool. Every wise person starts out as a fool. Embrace ideas that are contradictory to your own beliefs instead of fearing them!听
Could you share some听lessons learned during your degree?听听
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Chlo茅 Dominguez (Art Dip鈥�03, MMus鈥�05, DMus鈥�09 | GVA Winner 2008-2009):听The Schulich School of 平特五不中 helped me to find my voice as an artist. It was the right place at the right time, with the exact right amount of freedom and supervision, and with the right mentors for me to flourish. Not that our personal growth is something fixed 鈥� it鈥檚 always changing 鈥� but my years at 平特五不中 were a time when I felt like I learned to breathe freely. I finally stopped trying to fit the mold and was able to express my own identity as a cellist and musician.听
Emmanuel Vukovich (BMus鈥�07, Gr Dip in Music鈥�13听| GVA Winner 2006-2007):听When you trust your curiosity, you will learn something that interests you, which you will remember for the rest of your life.听听
Aaron S:听I definitely did not expect to learn as much as I did from my fellow classmates. I feel really lucky to have been a student alongside so many talented people -- many of whom I continue to work with closely. We helped and encouraged each other to be the best we could be, and this supportive atmosphere was in a large part fostered by the wonderful faculty. I have fond memories of popping my head into听neighbouring听rooms in the听fourth-floor听practice corridor, and doing or listening to run-throughs with friends. The support and inspiration I drew from the students around me is a huge reason why those four years at 平特五不中 have such a special place in my heart.听
If you had a mantra/philosophy/phrase that sums up where you are now, what would it be?听听听
Emmanuel:听There is no try. Only do or do not!听听
Aaron C:听鈥淣o tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.鈥濃�擟arl Jung听
颁丑濒辞茅:听Follow your gut feeling and go with the flow.听
Chan:听Multiplicity of experience and self-challenge inform the artist.听听听
Isaac:听Be serious, but don't take yourself too seriously.听
Can you share a memory about when you received the Golden Violin听Award?听
Emmanuel:听Getting a call at听6 am while I was on tour 鈥斕齮hat I was to receive a new big award ...听听
Joshua:听I remember being completely exhausted before the announcement was made. There were 5 finalists that year and I think the concert was on a Sunday night, so everyone was really worn out by the end 鈥� I don鈥檛 think they called us to the stage to announce the winner until 11 p.m.! It was definitely worth the wait to hear my name called, though.听
Aaron C:听The night before the Finals of the competition, I couldn鈥檛 sleep. I was sweating uncontrollably, and had a terrible sleep. It was hard for me to focus in the following听day,听because听I听was so stressed for the performance in the evening, hoping that听it听would be how I normally practiced. A few hours before the performance, I took a nap, and听tried听to remember what began my attraction to music. It was not for听its perfect execution听or听the technical virtuosities. Perhaps some might be drawn to that, and there鈥檚 nothing wrong with it. But for me, the philosophical and emotional depth that music brings forth is what听has听always motivated me. So, I decided to focus on that instead. I accepted that I would听probably make mistakes in the performance, but as long as I听was听trying to express what I believed听were听the messages of the music, that听was all that mattered. And I did make mistakes. But I also tried my best to express the music. For me, that is a much more rewarding experience. I didn鈥檛 play for the results, but instead I played for the search of the impetus that had听always served听as the driving force听in听my passion for music. (There is a belief among the Hasidic and Christian traditions that the pathway to a perfect being/paradise is to regain what has been lost since birth/childhood. I find this notion very interesting and profound. With all the years of studying historical traditions and knowledge of music, I find it quite easy to forget the curiosity and wide-eyed wonder that got me here in the first place.)听
Any words of wisdom for future听Golden听Violin Award听candidates?听听
Aaron C:听Have a good time! Enjoy sharing music with the audience. After the year of 2020, I think we all know how precious it is to be able to perform, to own a stage and share your own voice.听
Ewald:听Embrace the hurdles along the way. Treat the hurdles as learning opportunities and motivation to keep working hard so you can make the most from any opportunities that come by.听
Emmanuel:听Awards follow the success of realizing daily achievements. Focus on setting and realizing these daily goals. Everything else will follow from there.听
Chan:听Communicate your personality through your music!听
Joshua:听You鈥檒l inevitably be nervous when you go up to perform, but don鈥檛 let the situation overwhelm you 鈥� remember what got you here! Getting to this stage means that a lot of people believe in your abilities, so try your best to have fun and show the audience what you can do. (Honestly, this applies to performances in general.)听
Victor:听This may sound cheesy, but I'd say: do it with love. The more we focus on our love of music, the better we play and the more satisfaction we get out of it. Forget about the judges!听
What did the Golden Violin Award enable you to do?听听
Joshua:听As a result of winning Golden Violin, I was invited to play in several solo and chamber recitals, including a concert at the Roerich Museum in New York the following spring. Nicholas Roerich designed the sets for the premiere of Stravinsky鈥檚 Rite of Spring, and performing in a gallery surrounded by his artwork is 鈥� still to this day 鈥� one of my favorite concert experiences.听
颁丑濒辞茅:听As string players, finding an instrument of high quality that suits your playing is extremely important in the pursuit of a professional career. In my doctorate years, we spent around two years looking for the听perle听rare, the perfect fit. We finally found it in a beautiful cello made by Lorenzo听Carcassi听in 1745, from Florence. The Golden Violin Award鈥痟elped me greatly in my search and acquisition of this instrument.听
Lambert Chen (DMus鈥�08 | GVA Winner 2007-2008):听It was with uncertainty and even trepidation that I started my last year of studies at 平特五不中 due to the competitive reality I would be facing after graduation.听 Upon receiving this award,听I became much more confident and optimistic about my future as a professional musician.听 I understood then, with the guidance and support of Prof. Andr茅 Roy, that at any stage of our lives one has to always aim for excellence while keeping a sense of wonder.听
Ewald:听The award allowed me to pursue competing in international competitions, performance opportunities and further studies in New York.听
Isaac:听With the award, I was able to purchase three听historical听bows which allowed me to explore certain aspects of performance practice. This led me to my job at les Violons du Roy... The award helped tremendously!听
Aaron C:听It is safe to say that without the Award, I would have had a difficult time pursuing my Master鈥檚 degree. The Award opened up pathways for me to connect and familiarize among the Classical music society in Montreal, and I am very grateful for it. For instance, the recital held at the Chapelle听historique听du Bon Pasteur allowed me to connect with the local audience, to interact and engage with them personally. Although the Covid pandemic might have put things to a halt, I certainly hope to return and reconnect with the musical scenes in Montreal soon!听
Victor:听For me it was a stepping stone: I had often played for auditions and competitions on the violin, but rarely on the viola - and even less on both instruments, as I did for the Golden Violin Award. Preparing thoroughly with Andr茅 Roy's excellent guidance boosted my progress on the viola and gave me the confidence I needed to win my first OSM audition, shortly after.听
Emmanuel:听To believe in myself enough to trust and follow my own intuition.听
Chan:听In听brief, the听award created meaningful performance opportunities (both solo and chamber music) and allowed me to pursue further studies in New York City.听
Aaron S:听The Golden Violin Award enabled me to buy a new violin, but it signified more than the prize money of course. Being a recipient of such a coveted award gave me a higher standard to work towards as I embarked on the next stages of my education. It was听and still is an听honour听to be named among so many brilliant musicians, and it鈥檚 something I work hard to merit every day.听
