In January and February 2013 I undertook at short term Winter Residency at The Banff Centre, Canada.  Banff is one of the largest arts centres in the world.  To be accepted I had presented a proposal which in my case was to prepare a recital called “Six of the Best” which included works by five of the great French Baroque composers and a new commission by Australian composer, Rosalind Page.  I am grateful to New South Wales Arts who provided me with a grant which assisted me to take up the 5 week Residency.

Expectations

How can I describe my 5 weeks in a physically beautiful place that has been set up to “inspire creativity”?  Where surrounded by over 40 musicians and many other artists from different disciplines we were all able to focus on the one thing we held in common – making this world a better place through art?  I don’t feel I have the skills to tell the story but I will do my best.

As I approached Banff Township which sits almost 5000 feet up in the Canadian Rocky Mountains I was overwhelmed by the spectacular scenery. I had this amazing feeling of expectation that I was going to experience something very special. On arrival at the Banff Centre I was immediately greeted by reception, taken to my living quarters and given an artist card. This card allowed me to eat in the dining area and also gave me access to the well-equipped fitness centre which had a swimming pool, gym, yoga classes, etc. I was now set to go.

First days

On waking the next day I met the music coordinator and received the program for the week.  Most importantly, I took possession of the key to my personal “hut,” which was the place I would spend a lot of my time over the coming weeks.  My hut was set in the forest not unlike the great viola da gambist Sainte Colombe’s practice room depicted in the movie “Tous les matin du monde”. I could imagine the young Marin Marais, Sainte Colombe’s estranged student, secretly listening to his idol practicing the viol from underneath the veranda as the legend goes.

It felt good to look out the window at the surrounding snow capped mountains while the snow fell. I was struck by the stillness and the quietness of my surroundings. There was no background noise.

The Short Term Residency

The short term music residency I was accepted into was more structured than I had imagined. For example, there was a Monday morning meeting where all musicians got together which also featured an occasional guest speaker. During the week there were 2 quite formal concerts: Wednesdays at 4.30pm, a so-called “Mid Week Medley” and an evening concert on Friday night. These both took place in the Rolston Recital Hall, a beautiful, acoustically sensitive hall. I was told that many artists have used this hall for recording. Musicians from the residency would present pieces they had been working on at these concerts while visiting faculty would also perform.

I was lucky that there was a fantastic harpsichordist in residence, Katelyn Clark from Montreal. Kate and I practiced most days together for three weeks, working through the repertoire I was preparing for my recital back in Australia. We performed a Caix d’Hervelois suite together on a Friday night.  Kate and I also joined up with an Australian violinist, Christina Katsimbardis, to present a Corelli violin Sonata. I hope to continue these partnerships in future.

Australia was well represented at these concerts which included the Australian Haydn Ensemble, Black Milk Trio and violinist Liisa Pallandi.

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon there were self directed concerts in a more relaxing venue, the “Bentley”. These concerts were mostly given by groups who were already formed and working together professionally.  It offered them a great opportunity to prepare for upcoming tours.

On Tuesday evenings Henk Guitttart, the Dutch violist and Banff’s music director, or one of the visiting faculty, gave a talk or showed a DVD. I enjoyed these sessions which often ended up in heated discussions in Maclab, the on-site pub. Henk would try and tie these evenings in with up and coming performances. We got to see a great DVD on Artie Shaw, who Henk had met. There were so many facts I found out about this iconic Jazz muso. He stopped playing at 45 to become an author, his last concert was in Australia, he used harpsichord in one of his bands and he had 8 wives!

The whole atmosphere at residency in Banff was incredible and I think this was created by Henk’s outstanding leadership. There was no actual or hidden hierarchy, no “in cliques”, which in my view can be the bane of classical music. It didn’t matter if you had just finished your first music degree, had won an international competition, were recording a CD or someone like me who had been in the music game for decades – we were all equal.

Early music, the gamba and Banff

I found it refreshing to be around musicians who were for the most part not early music specialists. To have input from such a variety of artists, string quartets, piano trios, opera singers and faculty was invaluable.

It was interesting that few musicians at Banff had ever seen or heard a viola da gamba in the flesh. Viol playing colleagues, we should be appalled at this fact!  There was a very special moment when I volunteered to be examined by a physiotherapist while playing in front of a room full of musical colleagues. I selected a Muzette by Marais and as I played you could have heard a pin drop.  Afterwards the whole place applauded – something they did not do for the other volunteers. I’d like to say it was me they were enthusiastic about but I suspect it was the power of the music and the pure, stark beauty of the unaccompanied bass viol. A visiting faculty member, Hardy Rittner, a German concert pianist came up to me afterwards and congratulated me on my sound. I said it was my beautiful instrument and the music but he stopped me and looked me straight in the eye and said, “No, it was you who made the beautiful sound”. These moments are rare in a musician life. As I walked around for the rest of the day I felt an inner glow…..I am still feeling it now.

Another highlight was performing minimalist Terry Riley’s famous “In C”… never common fare for a viola da gambist!

The beauty surrounding us

We were encouraged to take time to be inspired by the beauty around us and the mountains which soared to 12,000 feet. For me this took place in my daily runs, my numerous climbs up the spectacular Tunnel Mountain, my snow shoeing at Lake Louise and probably the greatest day of all, a half marathon run on the frozen Bow River. (Yes ON the frozen river, not alongside it!)

One thing I noticed about Banff is that there was not a morning and an afternoon in the way we experience it in Australia.  As I was there in mid-winter the day seemed very short and we had to grab onto it quickly. One of my great joys was to get up every morning at sunrise (7.30am) and go for a 10 km run in the snow around town. It took a while to work out the appropriate clothing which finally I did, 2 layers of everything and a balaclava. It took 15 minutes to get dressed every morning but it was worth it. Fortunately there was a heat wave in Banff while I was there: -8 to +4 degrees. There were many days with brilliant, blue skies.

After the run it was a warm shower then on to the “Vista” dining room for a breakfast of your dreams, which included an on-site “omelet man” who made omelettes to order. It is a sad fact that although the food was good in Banff the coffee was, well, not what we enjoy in Australia. So Banff wasn’t perfect!

Practice, practice, practice!

Each morning I would arrive at my practice hut at around 10am and work to about 4pm. I would then break for concerts and often rehearse in the evenings. On the 5^th day I wrote in my diary, “Try to move the heart in the wonderful program I am preparing. Look for beauty in what you are playing. Look at the creation that surrounds you and draw inspiration from it”.

On the 7^th day of my residency I came to realise that the program I had elected to do for my recital back in Sydney in April 2013 was proving to be undoable for me physically. I was conscious of listening to my body which was saying “No, this is too big”. I had chosen 5 demanding composers that together would be too much for me in one concert. This is what was so fantastic about Banff. At the drop of a hat you could just go and talk to someone about your fears and concerns. I did this immediately and was supported with the decision to change the Marais suite I had originally chosen for one that was more “under the fingers”.

This was quite a learning point for me. There is no reason why I cannot approach my musical community here in Australia when I need to talk through musical decisions. I think as musicians we can build barriers between us, especially in the close-knit community that is the Australian classical and early music scene. I know I am afraid to share my fears about any musical short comings I might have but I would benefit much from seeking other people’s views more often.

One thing I would really like to continue back here after the Banff experience is to take advantage of the musical community around me – create moments when we can meet, talk and support each other.

Learning from and with colleagues

As I mentioned earlier there were a number of visiting faculty at Banff, a different musician each week.  For example, pianist Hardy Ritter, cellist Shauna Rolston, trumpeter Marco Blaauw and violinist Marc Destrubé. You could sign up for coaching which I did with Marc as he does a lot of period violin playing including the orchestra of the 18^th century and our own Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. It has been many years since I have had coaching like this. I found it hard to put my name down on the list but in the room with Marc with his guidance the music I played began to take shape and go to different places. I found this an incredibly humbling and worthwhile experience.

Part of my project, alongside expanding my command of the French Baroque repertoire, was to learn a new piece written for me by Rosalind Page. Rosalind was the reason I was in Banff as she encouraged me to apply for a residency in the first place.  She had been in Banff the year before.

This resulted in a wonderful connection between her and my experience. Her piece arrived a few days into my residency. It gave me great joy to be working in my hut on a piece that was written by an Australian friend and colleague who a few months before had been sitting in a hut like mine creating new music!

Composing was very much encouraged at the Banff residency. I think nearly every concert featured at least one world premiere. What a special opportunity to be somewhere for 5 weeks where you hear music in the making.

Being at the Banff Centre we were also surrounded by artists from other disciplines – visual artists, writers, dancers, film makers and even recording engineers.  In fact every concert was recorded at a very high standard. The recording studios themselves were amazing.  Many artists come to Banff just to record CDs.

I had the opportunity to perform in a lecture given by renowned architect Theaster Gates who gave a presentation about making urban communities liveable and how “art” was a very important factor in achieving this. It was a great opportunity to bring the viola da gamba to the wider community in Banff. Theaster began his lecture by dropping his jeans. Well it did get everyone’s attention! A stimulating lecture in more ways than one…

Although there was a lot of serious playing at Banff there was also some really fun moments and times of great laughter. One for me was when I discovered that the black box in my Motel room was not a safe but a fridge! I did find it strange that there would be a safe in an artist’s room; I mean we don’t earn much.  I shared this with my colleagues. Some laughed but others were glad I informed them as they too thought the black box was a safe. The important outcome being that I no longer had to leave my wine out on the balcony overnight!

Thanks

After many years of performing, directing 2 professional ensembles, putting together numerous programs and creating several baroque operas for children, it was just so fantastic to have time and space to reflect on the past, to look forward and to plan the next 10 years of my artistic life. Banff was a place where I found I could really be myself. The whole experience gave me a great deal of confidence that as an artist what I am doing is worthwhile. I have made new friends and contacts from all around the world and ironically, made several Australian friends.  I came home filled with new ideas and fuel to work with.

The final outcome of those weeks came to the fore at The Marais Project’s Season Launch, “Six of the Best” on April 11, 2013.  My only regret is that my Marais Project colleagues Danny Yeadon, Raymond Harvey and Tommie Andersson could not join me for a few weeks in the Canadian wilderness!

In closing I would just like to thank composer Rosalind Page and my husband Phil for encouraging me to take up this residency.  I also owe a debt of gratitude to NSW Arts who supported me financially.

Author

Jennifer Eriksson is one of Australia’s best known professional viola da gambists.  She was educated at Sydney Conservatorium and undertook three years post graduate study with Jaap ter Linder at Rotterdam Conservatorium, The Netherlands.  She is founder and Artistic Director of “The Marais Project”, which she formed in 2000 to perform the complete works of Marin Marais and other ancient and contemporary works for her instrument.  She has released 4 commercial CDs the latest of which is “Lady Sings the Viol”.  The Marais Project presents an annual concert series in Sydney and tours regularly.