After a long pandemic-related break, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra will play “Return to Ruby” for its first concert of the fall season on Saturday, October 16.
Violinist Megumi Terry is most excited to play Jessie Montgomery’s composition, which is on the program. “Starburst” plays with the images of rapidly forming stars in an endless galaxy to create a multi-dimensional soundscape.
“I’m excited to be part of a group that is willing to put the time and care into making it a truly memorable experience for the audience,” says Terry. “I’m glad people in Tallahassee can hear it because I think they will really enjoy it. I hope you want to hear more about it [Montgomery’s] Music and look it up afterwards. “
Terry is a fan of living composers like Montgomery and, as a PhD student at Florida State University School of Music, has set himself the task of highlighting a diverse range of female composers in her research. Part of her graduation work is to create a collection of underrepresented works for violin so that both teachers and their students can more easily access and learn about them.
“Room for other composers”
For example, the composer Johannes Brahms is often used as a leading example of the romanticism of classical music. Terry wants to give teachers more options so that students looking to learn a romantic violin sonata can also consider composers like Amy Beach.
“Bach and Beethoven are important, but there is also a lot of space for other composers,” says Terry. “Students only play something if their teacher has played it or if they have heard it before, and many of these pieces are not found in the library or in a decent recording on YouTube. It’s different when you learn it yourself for the first time, and in a way it’s groundbreaking. ”
Terry’s violin journey began when she was 3 years old when she saw a violinist play in her church. She asked her mother for the instrument for a year before starting lessons. The only catch was a promise she made to her mother and which she keeps to this day.
“She said, ‘If you want to do this, you can’t stop until you are 99,'” laughs Terry. “There were moments in my teenage years when I wanted to quit, but my mom always asked, ‘Are you 99?'”
Introduce music to the students
Terry is grateful for her undergraduate professor at Brigham Young University who guided her through her “terrible teenage years” and continued to mentor her in college. As a winner of the International Stradivarius Competition – a high-profile competition for young violinists – Terry has performed with the Utah Philharmonic Orchestra, Southwest Symphony, The Orchestra of Southern Utah and Pleasant Grove Orchestra.
She currently plays alongside TSO for the Sinfonia Gulf Coast and the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra. Given her focus on music that intersects with social activism, she is part of a new TSO string quartet initiative sponsored by the Tallahassee-Leon County Nonprofit Services Grant Program.
The goal of the quartet is to share music by women composers in an interactive format. Terry looks forward to giving students from 32 elementary and middle schools the opportunity to listen to live music, especially given the lack of live performance opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our goal was to bring women composers or colored composers into the community because they are underrepresented,” says Terry. “I think music can be a vehicle for change. As long as you are doing something in your own little corner of the world and helping people as you can, the best you can do is. As a musician, I can highlight these composers that people have never heard of, even though their works are amazing and they should be performed as often as other composers. ”
Inspiration and practice
As inspiring violinists, Hilary Hahn and Midori are high on Terry’s list. She values Hahn for her ability to engage the community on social media and Midori for her precision and attention to detail.
“She’s also a Japanese violinist and I’m half Japanese, so it’s very inspiring to see another Asian woman succeed,” adds Terry.
Terry describes her own style as a violinist as passionate and raw. She strives for each note to be expressive and with an intention behind it so that the audience can more easily connect with it. Her training plan is meticulously written out so that she can cover as much as possible in one day.
After a technique warm up, she will go through her list of solo pieces that need to be learned and refined.
Your best advice for musicians is to schedule practice performances to help them gauge how to play the piece under pressure. Terry says performing with a large group like TSO is a whole different feeling given their size and sound.
She can’t wait to be back in the sprawling Ruby Diamond Concert Hall with her fellow musicians and the community.
“I really feel like music brings people together,” says Terry. “Music is what can change people’s hearts.”
Amanda Sieradzki is a columnist for the Council on Culture & Arts. COCA is the umbrella agency for art and culture in the capital region (www.tallahasseearts.org).
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