{"id":109034,"date":"2024-10-30T15:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T19:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=109034"},"modified":"2024-10-31T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T12:00:02","slug":"interview-violinist-tanya-charles-talks-about-the-instrument-thats-led-to-a-varied-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2024\/10\/30\/interview-violinist-tanya-charles-talks-about-the-instrument-thats-led-to-a-varied-career\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Violinist Tanya Charles Talks About The Instrument, Upcoming Concerts & More"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Violinist
Violinist Tanya Charles (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Violinist Tanya Charles has a varied career that might see her perform as a guest soloist with an orchestra one day, teach at the University of Toronto, and then check in on a string education program in the Caribbean the next.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll be performing with the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra on November 16 for their concert titled Affairs of the Heart, even as she\u2019s doubling in the orchestra pit for the Mirvish production of The Lion King.<\/p>\n

We spoke to her about the violin, Affairs of the Heart by Marjan Mozetich, and more.<\/p>\n

Tanya Charles, violin<\/h2>\n

Tanya Charles is a native of Hamilton, Ontario, with family roots in the Caribbean in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. She earned a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from the University of Toronto, and an Artist Diploma (Orchestral Performance) from the Glenn Gould School.<\/p>\n

Her many accolades include the Women\u2019s Art Associate of Canada \u2013 Luella McCleary Award, the Gabriella Dory Prize in Music, and the Hamilton Black History Association\u2019s John C Holland Award.<\/p>\n

But, violin didn\u2019t come first in her musical journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a piano person. My entry point was piano when I was three,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her introduction to the violin came via a special strings program held in the Hamilton school system when she was about 10. The director of the program came to her school to demonstrate, and it struck her as soon as she got a look at the instrument.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey that looks pretty tricky. I\u2019m gonna try that.\u201d It was a natural fit, one that she took to immediately. \u201cIt flew into my hands, and the notes flew out of my fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanya was still studying piano as well, but at the undergrad level, she made the choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a no brainer for me that violin would be my expression.\u201d While the fit feels natural, the possibilities are endless. \u201cI feel sometimes like everyday, I\u2019m learning something new about the instrument.\u201d She stresses that music study is a lifelong study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way you appreciate the instrument, it\u2019s a lifelong process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her performing career has led her across North and South America, and the Caribbean. Today, along with her appearances as a soloist, she is the founding and current concertmaster of the Montreal-based Obiora Ensemble, and regularly performs as a member of Ensemble du Monde (Guadeloupe), Toronto Mozart Players, and the Odin Quartet.<\/p>\n

Coming Up: Marjan Mozetich \u2014 Affairs of the Heart<\/h3>\n

With CBSO, she\u2019ll be performing Marjan Mozetich\u2019s Affairs of the Heart (1997). Also on the bill is Jocelyn Morlock\u2019s My Name is Amanda Todd and Tchaikovsky\u2019s Symphony No. 6 to close out the concert.<\/p>\n

Affairs of the Heart, not surprisingly, is composed in a very expressive style.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a concerto for violin and orchestra,\u201d Tanya explains. Without separate movements per se, it\u2019s through composed, and progresses by moods.<\/p>\n

The music explores the states of the human heart, hence, its wide ranging expression, which incorporates moments of explosive emotion, and timidity, and everything in between. \u201cYou find yourself in a different state at the end of the exploration,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very interesting work,\u201d she says, describing it as \u201cminimalistic\u201d in style. \u201cThere\u2019s an ebb and a flow, but a constant motor, and [it\u2019s] smooth flowing, like water.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s technically quite difficult; even more so in that the technique comes out as pure expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difficulty about it as well is the stamina,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are a lot of notes, and a lot of patterns \u2014 they don\u2019t always fall so great into the hands,\u201d she laughs. \u201cIt challenges me on how to approach the instrument,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt\u2019s very tricky.\u201d<\/p>\n

It may sound contradictory, but to play such a demanding piece, it\u2019s necessary to find the ease. \u201cThe musical side is the part that comes out easily,\u201d she says. \u201cYou don\u2019t think about how hard it is to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The difficulty, if played correctly, is lost on the audience. \u201cIn that same vein, looking beyond the notes you see on the page, and trying to make something of it, is the difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n