JAVS Fall 2024

His pedagogy has marked me and has stayed with me all along, and it has shaped my musical instincts, my pedagogical choices, nurtured my creativity, and channeled my erstwhile misplaced or inappropriate expressivity. At the times when we had formed a close relationship, his prickly veneer had cracked often enough that I was fortunate to experience his kind, vulnerable, sensitive, supportive, and caring side. That is the side I preferred and that is the one I am choosing to remember. The video of Roger hits differently than a few years back when it was released. Hearing Roger talk about the death of his mother, and Shostakovich’s viola sonata which he wrote as he was dying, resonates now deeper and more powerfully than before.”

It should go without saying that every Congress is unique with its own opportunities, circumstances and difficulties. Congress XXV was no different; highlighted as the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the American Viola Society, the congress needed to be special, and indeed it was.

- Aurelien Petillot

“R.I.P. my friend Roger Myers! What wonderful musical moments we have had over the years and what a fine friendship we have had. He will be remembered by many.”

The expected international contingent included: • Jonathan Craig - Canada • Otto Freudenthal - Sweden • Malcolm Gilles - Australia • Donald Maurice - New Zealand • Jutta Puchammer- Sédillot - Canada • Lars Anders Tompter - Norway

- Ole Bohn

Premiers included: • Suite for Viola and Piano by Otto Freudenthal • Ticket’s for a Prayer Wheel for Viola and Baritone by Dan Welcher Special guests and programs included: • The congress itself was dedicated to the dean of orchestral musicians Joseph de Pasquale (1919-2015), Principal Violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra for 41 years. He gave a marvelous recital. • Violinist Elmar Oliveira performing the Bohuslav Martinu Three Madrigals with violist Sandra Robbins. • Violist Jeanne Mallow, granddaughter of the “First Lady of the Viola” Lillian Fuchs (1901-1995) performed with her pianist sister, Barbara Stein Mallow, on the Lillian Fuchs Memorial Concert. Very special! • Twelve auditioned high school violists from every corner of Texas, in concert. Under the direction of Thomas Tatton, the youthful violists performed the Suite for Eight Violas by Gordon Jacob. These youthful violists (and a parent) were given auditor privileges for the entire congress. Again, very special.

“We will miss Roger—a wonderful violist, teacher and friend. Roger was a striking figure of a man; he enjoyed a memorable personality with a quirky sense of humor and a sharp wit. You were lucky if you had some association with Roger—a colleague, student, associate, friend or casual acquaintance. Many will speak about Roger’s teaching, his playing, positions and awards - all laudable. I want to concentrate on his masterful organization of 1997 International Congress XXV on the campus of the University of Texas, Austin.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 40, No. 2, Fall 2024

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