JAVS Fall 2022

In Review

2022 American Viola Society Festival & 47th International Viola Congress by Sachin Shukla

For five days this past June, the charming town of Columbus, Georgia—otherwise relatively tranquil during the summer— sprang to life with the joyous noise of violas, along with the of next-generation ideas being hatched, shared, and received at this year’s American Viola Society Festival and 47 th International Viola Congress. While finishing my undergraduate degree at Northwestern, I wrote an article on the Walton Viola Concerto which I submitted to the Dalton competition last year. To my pleasant surprise, it won. And in an even more pleasant surprise, I was invited to give a presentation on my paper at the conference in June. So, there I was, determined to soak up as much of the festivities as I could. I found that the conference placed the American Viola Society at the center of innovation in the viola world and exemplified the creativity, openness, and interdisciplinarity that violists are capable of. While there were presentations of all kinds at the Festival & Congress, I’ll discuss some salient groups that stood out to me. In addition to excellent showcases of the talent in the viola community through performances and masterclasses, many other presentations were dedicated to expanding the scope of viola music. Still others developed the nuanced understanding of the physicality of playing that it behooves the violist to have, while still others investigated the psychology of playing, practice, and performance. Upon my arrival, a day before the events had even started, the warm, friendly energy we all recognize as the calling card of our kind was already buzzing in the air. The Festival & Congress began with an opening ceremony, bookended with performances by viola ensembles from the University of Arizona and Columbus State University itself. The warmth of their sound marked an auspicious beginning to the festivities. The guest of honor was Manuel Diaz, a face whose familiarity surprised me. Mr.

Diaz and I had sat next to each other before in rehearsals for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, of which we are both members. As it turned out, he is a considerable violist with a beyond incredible story of resilience and determination that ranged from war-torn Franco-era Spain to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Viola Mass Ensemble Rehearsal, 2022 American Viola Society Festival & 47th International Viola Congress.

At the Festival, the bright future of viola playing was on full display. While I was there, I had the pleasure of hearing Natalie Loughran, the winner of the 2021 Primrose competition, give a recital. Her eclectic program included a performance dedicated to the memory of Roger Tapping, her teacher, whose recent passing has been a tragedy for the music community. She displayed an impressive confidence and unassailable instinct of expression in her playing. Timothy Ridout—whose performance I got to hear a sneak peek of as the balance checker for the dress rehearsal—gave a brilliant concert of some of my favorite concertos, including the Hummel Potpourri and a concerto by Alessandro Rolla. These under-programmed pieces o er the violist an unusual opportunity to be a virtuoso, which I have come to understand describes a character on stage

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 38, No. 2, Fall 2022

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