BY CUTCOMMON
It’s that time again for the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition — your chance to hear some of the world’s finest musicians under 35, who travel to Australia to play music they love and compete for their shot at the $150,000 prize pool.
It’s a large-scale competition, and it attracts a large number of chamber musicians from around the world. We wanted to learn more about what draws players into MICMC — whether they are piano trios from Spain and The Netherlands (Albéniz Trio) or Czech Republic (Trio Bohémo); or string quartets from Israel, United States, Korea-Canada, and St. Lucia (Dior Quartet).
In this interview, four players from Dior Quartet tell CutCommon why they’re looking forward to visiting Australia to compete in MICMC, and what it’s like to build a life around chamber music.
This interview features joint responses from violinists Noa Sarid and Tobias Elser, violist Caleb Georges, and cellist Joanne Yesol Choi (pictured below).
Dior Quartet is joined together from across the world! How’d you first team up?
The three of us [Joanne, Noa, and Toby] met when we started our masters at Indiana University. Noa came all the way from Israel! Joanne came from Canada, and Toby from the United States.
Noa and Joanne both studied with members of the Pacifica Quartet with the common goal of forming a quartet during their studies, and they were matched together. Pretty shortly afterwards, Toby came on board along with our original violist. Two years later, Caleb joined us — right before the pandemic shut everything down!
When did you realise you wanted to take your ensemble playing seriously, and direct your quartet along an extraordinary pathway of programs, collaborations, concerts, and residencies?
We realised pretty early on that quartet was the perfect fit for us. We all felt more confident and inspired by one another than we did in orchestra or when playing solo repertoire.
One of Joanne’s many strengths besides her cello playing is her ability to find great opportunities and plan months and even years down the line. Thanks to her dedicated ambition and the group’s tireless work ethic, our quartet was able to do many incredible things together over the years.
How would you describe the benefit of choosing to forge your careers through ensemble playing?
The best part of playing in an ensemble is that you realise the importance of commitment. It’s a lot like a family, or even a marriage! The group can’t succeed if there is a lack of commitment by any one of the members.
On stage, when all of us are totally committed to the music together, there is almost no feeling of leading or following. Also, if everybody is completely engaged, the musical storyline is so much more exciting when there are four people acting it out.
On a practical note, it is nice to not feel alone, and to know that we always have each other’s backs.
So what appealed to you about the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, so much so that you were willing to travel all the way to Australia for it?
Some of our most admired mentors had recommended that we participate, and so we eagerly applied and couldn’t be more excited to be coming to compete at one of the biggest chamber music competitions in the world!
We jump at any opportunity to take our craft overseas. It really is one of the greatest thrills of what we do that we’re able to see so many beautiful concert stages around the world.
Talk us through the music you’re playing in the competition!
We are excited to be bringing with us a diverse range of repertoire. Among the most interesting of our selections is perhaps the Robert Paterson Quartet No. 3 that is based on speech. Every movement highlights a different aspect of how we communicate with our words, and we think it is a fascinating exploration of how music and language are intertwined.
Another piece that we can’t wait to showcase is Yessori by Soo Yeon Lyuh, which imitates a traditional Korean instrument called the haegeum. You will be sure to hear many unique sounds, and we hope that we are successful in transporting the listener to ancient Korea briefly for just one round of the competition.
How do you feel that winning MICMC — or simply participating in it — could serve your future careers?
Of course winning is our goal, but beyond that we are increasingly more aware of the role that connections play in our developing career. Simply making it this far to the point that we are travelling to Australia to meet all the other competitors, and to play for such an esteemed jury, is already a valuable experience for our group, regardless of the result.
If we were to win or place in the finals, it would reinforce for us that we are on the right track, and we would take that achievement proudly with us for many many years to come.
As part of MICMC, you’re also going to tutor young musicians through Monash University programs. Why did you want to make the most of this visit to Australia from a teaching perspective too?
We are passionate about sharing our craft with audiences all over the world, no matter what age they might be.
Some of our most memorable moments together have been when we connected with unlikely audiences, and it is one of the most special feelings to introduce kids to the absolutely thrilling world of chamber performance.
Dior was founded through connections made in university. How would you describe the importance of spending time nurturing the relationships you have while you’re in that learning environment?
Connections to us are so much more than a Facebook friend or Instagram follower. A true connection is one that keeps giving, time and time again.
We have many friends that we met during our time in university that have continued to be a source of inspiration and encouragement for us. Some connections we’ve made over the years have surprised us with unexpected invitations to come perform, teach, or even just hang out — and we love that we’re able to help be a part of that beautiful connected world of classical music.
Before you come to Australia, how are you each preparing for your MICMC performance?
We have had an incredibly busy last few months, so we take every opportunity that we are together to play through as much of the music as we can.
Since we have had so many more pieces to learn, and concerts to give recently, it is interesting how we’ve had to adapt to fit our busy schedules. We really realised the importance of being efficient and focused in our rehearsal environment, and making the most of every moment together.
What are you most looking forward to about participating in MICMC?
We are most looking forward to performing music that each of us is incredibly passionate about. There is no piece that we are bringing that just simply fills a spot on a program. It is important to us that every piece tells a different story, and we are really proud of the diverse repertoire selections that we are bringing for MICMC.
Live rounds of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition take place from 3-6 July (Rounds 1 and 2) and 7 July (Semi-finals) in Hawthorn Arts Centre. The Grand Final event is on 9 July in Melbourne Recital Centre.
Visit the Musica Viva website for more information and bookings.
Images supplied.
