BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Did you catch our interview with Aidan Filshie of the Kalon Quartet? Aidan talked us through the experience of being selected to take part in the prestigious Mimir Emerging Artists program.
Well, we’re back — and this time, we hear from the talented Invictus Quartet.
This chamber ensemble took part in the 2017 Mimir Chamber Music Festival, after its musicians had just come together in the same year. (And it was a busy one for the players, too — they also participated in the 2017 Australian Festival of Chamber Music Winterschool, and performed on 3MBS.)
Invictus cellist Annika Cho tells us what it was like to start a chamber ensemble in Australia and get it up and running in its earliest years. She performs alongside violinists Rebecca Wang and Nyssa Sanguansri, and violist Jin Tong Long — all members who have studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
So, your group came together in Melbourne and you’ve been achieving a great deal of success so far! What was it like to form a professional ensemble during the time of your studies?
We’ve been really lucky with the opportunities we’ve been given during our time at the conservatorium. Honestly, it feels pretty weird to think of ourselves as professional musicians, because we’re still studying and still have so much to learn. There are times when we can confidently and proudly tell ourselves that we are professionals, and other times when we really question that title.
For me personally, I’m definitely still in the process of trying to understand what our identities as musicians are. Being a part of this quartet has been the best part of my uni life and has kept me going when I found uni to be really tough. There are definitely times when things get too hectic though — when assignments, concerts, and exams clash with the recordings and external performances we have planned.
It’s been a huge learning process understanding how to juggle our time and make our rehearsals more efficient.
How did you go from a student ‘idea’ or ‘dream’ into a more structured and professional initiative?
We just got together at uni as part of the chamber music subject. After we were done for the semester, we had a chat and came to an agreement that we all wanted to keep this going and see where this could potentially take us. We weren’t expecting anything. We just really liked playing with each other, and wanted to continue learning and making music together.
After we saw it as more than just a uni subject, we took it pretty seriously and started applying for whatever we could at the time. So we ended up participating in festivals and competitions both locally and internationally. We just looked for every opportunity we could to perform.
How important is guidance from mentors and teachers along the way — and what’s the best guidance an established artist can offer an emerging one?
I can’t emphasise enough just how important mentors are — and also finding the right mentor for your group. I can confidently say we wouldn’t have made the progress we did without the guidance of ours, William Hennessy.
I think it’s so important that artists don’t just teach you how to play the music. We’ve been so lucky to receive wisdom along the way about how important it is to be organised and prepared for anything, what kind of opportunities to prioritise, and the realities of the music industry.
Why were you interested in going for the Mimir Emerging Artists program?
Like I mentioned before, we wanted to apply for anything we could. And this is a festival that our own head of strings is behind, and the artists we’d learn from there are all established musicians and leaders in their respective orchestras.
We also already knew them from the previous years the Mimir Festival was in Melbourne. It was the perfect opportunity to learn more from them intensively.
What was the application process like for you?
I can’t remember exactly, because it was a year ago now — but I do remember being really stressed.
I think, at the time, we were just starting out again with a new member. So we were in the process of finding our sound again as an ensemble, learning how to play in this new formation, and just building ourselves back up.
That would’ve been the biggest challenge we had to work through. But we learned so much from the process and the effort was all worth it in the end.
Once you got into this program, how did you feel and what did you hope to achieve from it?
At first, I think we were mainly relieved because we had already applied once before and hadn’t been successful. But that quickly turned into excitement!
All we wanted was to learn more and become better musicians, and festivals are always an intensive and fun way to do it.
How were those hopes maintained or altered as you progressed?
We had such a great time! Just being able to block out the rest of the world and focus on music all day, every day, while being tutored by incredible artists — and then watching them perform in their own concerts — was so amazing and inspiring.
Why was this program such a valuable one for you at this stage in your career?
It was such an inspiring program being surrounded by great musicians, with a really supportive community behind it. We learnt so much from the daily intensive coaching sessions that has still stuck with us today.
What was your favourite part of the program?
I loved getting to know the other emerging artists and having fun reading through music together when we weren’t being coached. But I personally can’t forget how incredible the artists’ concerts were. I just remember being on the edge of my seat every night in awe of how brilliant they were.
What advice would you give to others considering applying?
Just go for it. Try to prepare as well as you can in advance so you’re not cramming everything last minute. But even if it’s not up to the standard you’d hope for, the whole experience of recording an audition tape is so beneficial to our journey as musicians. It’s better to start now while we’re still studying than to try and get used to it later down the track.
This year’s Mimir Emerging Artists will perform at the Mimir Chamber Music Festival 2019 on 31 August. The full festival takes place from 24 August – 1 September 2019 at The Ian Potter Southbank Centre.
We’ve partnered up with Mimir to bring you stories about its past and present emerging artists — stay tuned as we celebrate more talent in chamber music!
You can read Kalon Quartet’s story of Mimir right here.
Images supplied.
