JAVS Summer 2021

Paul Phillips. Francis Tursi performed a piece dedicated to him by composer Verne Reynolds, Sonata for Viola and Piano. Establishing a new tradition, the VRS (AVS) selected Rebecca Clarke, violist and composer, as its first Honorary Member. 11

works for viola were performed at the congress. Topping the entire agenda was a full celebration of William Primrose’s 75 th birthday. Featured Events: David and Donna Dalton selected a program of compositions for viola and soprano. Solo recitals were presented by Joseph de Pasquale, Yizhak Schotten, Karen Tuttle, Raphael Hillyer, and Primrose Competition winner, Geraldine Walther. Lecture recitals were presented by Guillermo Perich and Marcus Thompson and a lecture on Brescian and Cremonese violas by Maurice Riley. Franz Zeyringer’s viola/clarinet/ piano trio performed, and in a program for multiple violas, Thomas Tatton led the Southern California viola ensemble in the premier of David Sargent’s Interlude for Multiple Violas . In programs featuring viola with orchestra, Milton Thomas and flutist Theodore Wight performed Bloch’s Concertino for Flute, Viola and String Orchestra with the US Air Force Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Capt. Lowell Graham. Jerzy Kosmala played the premier of Maurice Gardner’s Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra and Jun Takahira was featured violist in the premier of Merrill Bradshaw’s Homages for Viola and Orchestra , David Dalton, guest conductor. Emanuel Vardi performed Tibor Serly’s Concerto for Viola and Orchestra , Jerry Bilik, guest conductor. Other premiers featured at the congress included Robert Manookin’s Reflections on a Hymn , performed by David Dalton, viola, Donna Dalton, soprano, and Christopher Giles, piano. In a real show stopper recital, Joseph de Pasquale teamed with pianist Vladimir Sokoloff in the premier of George Rochberg’s Sonata for Viola, dedicated to William Primrose. 13 William Primrose’s 75 th Birthday Celebration: A recital honoring William Primrose was given by Jun Takahira, Alan deVeritch, Yizhak Schotten, Karen Tuttle and Donald McInnes. Mr. Primrose’s wife, Hiroko Primrose, and his sister, Jean Primrose, who designed the logo for his newly released memoirs, were present. Mr. Primrose autographed copies of his book, Walk on the North Side: Memoirs of a Violist , throughout the congress. 14

IVC VII, Provo, Utah, 1979 David Dalton, Host 12

In a very real sense, the Provo congress was considerably more than the sum of its parts and rich in precedents. Not only was it a viola congress in the sense of IVC III and IVC V in organization and structure, it also saw the inauguration of what was to become the Primrose International Viola Competition ( PIVC ). The first Primrose Competition was won by Geraldine Walther; Jun Takahira from Japan, was second, and Patricia McCarty third; judges included William Primrose

David Dalton, Maurice Riley, and Franz Zeyringer (left to right) at the Ann Arbor IVC. Photo by Dwight Pounds.

himself, Ralph Aldrich, and Joseph de Pasquale. PIVC I was the first international competition ever held for violists exclusively! IVC VII was also host to an Ernest Bloch Centennial celebration with Bloch’s own daughter, Suzanne, as the guest of honor. She introduced the celebration and shared anecdotes and glimpses of personal and professional life in their home. Each of her father’s

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 37, 2021 Online Issue

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