Schubert's Final Journey

On April 28, 2012 Academy Concert Series presented our final concert of the 2011-2012 season, Schubert's Final Journey. The fabulous and remarkable Lumière Quartet played two of Schubert's greatest pieces of chamber music for a wonderful and appreciative (and growing!) audience. The Lumière Quartet is an incredibly talented group of this country's best and most experienced musicians with David Stewart and Paule  Préfontaine on violin, Stephen Marvin on viola and Christina Mahler on cello.

 Schubert's Final journey started with the Death and the Maiden string quartet. Schubert wrote this piece after he found out he was dying. It is a piece that seems to look at death in a searching way - looking for meaning and understanding. For the last part of the concert, I joined the Lumière  quartet to play one of my favourite pieces, the Cello Quintet in C major. Schubert completed it two months before his death. It is a monumental work that seems to transcend death. It is a work full of depth, transcendental beauty, humanity and hope. A remarkable work, it was definitely one of the highlights for this season!

We did it! The transition from Nicolai Tarasov to me of all Artistic Director duties has been completed, and my new board of directors and I, as well as a small army of volunteers and supporters (I love you all), are now well-underway towards ensuring that next season is another success.

The program for next year is all set – the music has been selected and the artists chosen. Next season will again feature three concerts at our beloved Eastminster United Church. While we have received requests to expand to four concerts next season, we are not yet in a position to fund an expansion of our season. We would love to add concerts and, with the tremendous support of our donors, are hopeful that we can consider it for upcoming seasons.

Another reason this concert was particularly special is that I played one of my favourite pieces with my mentor and friend, cellist Christina Mahler. I moved to Toronto from Edmonton, Alberta in 2005 in order to study with Christina. What a special and meaningful experience it was - a wonderful way to end our 2011-2012 seas!