JAVS Spring 2014

ued his musical studies in San Antonio, Texas. Already an accomplished educator, Peña was recently appointed Director and Lead Teacher for ROCmusic, an El Sistema-inspired program in collaboration with Eastman in Rochester. Alexander also serves on the faculty of the Eastman Community Music School, where he directs ensembles and teaches viola and violin. Benjamin Magruder , twenty-three years old, hails from Columbia, Maryland. The youngest of the bunch, Ben enjoys an active career of freelancing and private-studio teaching. Magruder also enjoys improvising and writing, thus serving as the trio’s main connection to composing, adapting, and find ing new repertoire. During the summer, all three of ¡Voila!’s members perform and teach as Artists in Residence at the Lakes Area Music Festival (LAMF) in Central Minnesota. Most recently, our professional and col legial collaboration with LAMF spurred the creation of Explore Music , a week-long creative-arts day camp for children K–5. The future for ¡Voila! includes recital engagements across Western New york in 2014, while working on recording the group’s first compilation of repertoire. Our diverse repertoire includes works originally for three violas: Capricious , by American composer Scott Slapin (freely available on the AVS’s website), and Spiral 1 , by Australian composer Robert Davidson (freely available on the IMSLP website). Transcriptions or adaptations of other works range from wind music by Beethoven to Spanish Renaissance music that is seldom performed. ¡Voila! would like to continue to expose our unique group sound to composers with the hope of fostering origi nal works. Future plans also include formally editing transcriptions/adaptations that the trio has worked on with the goal of uploading such works to web sites or online music “banks,” like the AVS, for vio lists to enjoy in the future. ¡Voila! is well aware of the challenges that lay before us. Dealing with age-old instrumental prejudice in a very traditional classical music genre conjures the mental image of some kind of silly uphill battle; a

challenge that energizes and amuses the group. Each member contributes to the mission of the trio while balancing and maintaining a professional musical career. Reflecting on our college experience and the difficult transitional time after school, the trio encourages young musicians to think entrepreneuri ally, develop skills apart from their musical craft, and to take chances that they believe in. Reflecting on our group’s beginnings, the members of the trio reminisce about the 40th International Viola Congress, hosted at Eastman in 2012. Never having been in attendance at such a viola-specific event, the then future-members of ¡Voila! were struck with inspi ration and dreamed about what else the viola could do. Magruder speaks of his admiration and respect for the plethora of musical experiences that most certain ly come along with any international viola congress, commenting, “But it was the congeniality and love within the world-wide community of violists that res onated the most with us, ultimately leaving us with a burning desire to continue to make music in our pro fessional lives while remaining passionate about two things—the viola and our longtime friendship.”

¡Voila! members with former AVS President Helen Callus at the 2013 Coleman Chamber Music Competition

To see an interview and performances by ¡Voila! onWXXI’s Backstage Pass , please visit: http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=9TmB-ufuwrI&feature=share.

J OURNAL OF THE AMERICAN VIOLA SOCIETy 56