Kuma Trio residency at LAMP!
Finally home after 6 months of traveling! This past residency with the Kuma Trio at the Lunenburg Academy of Music was such a special 2 weeks.
It’s been such a memorable experience at LAMP - full of intense music making (rehearsals, coachings, driving out to outreach concerts, preparing for our final concert), but also so full of fun and warmth from the community (Burt, Kathie, the LAMP trio, our host parents and of course - Sasha!).
LAMP is such a unique and rewarding place to make music and grow as artists because of the immense personal quality of its programs. The quaint town of Lunenburg has this peaceful, intimate, artistic, and cozy vibe. The hospitality and genuine kindness of everyone we encountered just blew us away.
Immediately upon arriving at Cheryl and Will’s house, we felt so at home. They were so generous, warm, and supportive the entire two weeks - giving us warm clothes, picking us up on rain/snowstorm nights, taking us on a mini roadtrip along the beautiful Nova Scotia coast. Not to mention for the hundredth time that they had Sasha, the absolutely sweetest girl to welcome us home after every long day.
We were also so grateful and lucky to have worked with three extremely different and talented artists so closely and intensely. Walter Delahunt, Adrian Brendel, and Mark Fewer - three incredibly inspiring musicians, who were not only wonderful coaches, but great friends to cook and drink and hangout with after music hours (though a lot of the conversation still was about music!)
Our outreach concerts taught us a lot as well, particularly in terms of working with kids, which is more new for me than Emilie and Eric. Sometimes the driving was long and tiring, with icy and windy roads, but ultimately it was worth it to share our music with the community. Our first concert was at the Halifax’s Parkland at the Gardens, a retirement home with a lovely space (baby grand piano!) and a very attentive audience. We met Dr. Richard Goldbloom, the founder of the local children hospital (IWK) in Halifax and honourary chairman of the LAMP board. The concert was held in part as an early birthday present for Dr. Goldbloom, and his daughter Barbara and her husband were also very sweet and generous, treating us to lunch and taking photos for our concert.
Our second outreach was at the Chester District School. We performed for around 320 kids (the entire elementary school!) in the gymnasium. The acoustics were a bit challenging and it was difficult to hear, on top of that the mic was cutting in and out, but we were pleasantly surprised by how engaged the students were! The ones in the front row were so attentive and moving to the rhythm, and during Eric’s cello solo of Julie-O, the kids just looked stunned with amazement. “How is he doing that on the big ukelele!?”
After a first intensive week, we decided to take Sunday easy - slept in, grabbed a delicious brunch at the Savy Sailor, finally had a chance to walk around the charming downtown of Lunenburg and strolled along the waterfront, and right at noon made our way to taste a good handful (or more…) of delicious samples from the Ironworks distillery!
The week ended with no less than the perfect celebration of great music and friends. The LAMP trio gave a stunning, captivating concert that included the Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Cello (Mark and Adrian absolutely blew us away…), and the Mendelssohn D minor Trio! We were all gathered at Seaport afterwards for a delicious meal and drinks - and continued the party afterwards playing a variety of card games at Mark and Adrian’s place. Such a wonderful time! :))
We made some really amazing progress as a trio and are so excited for the adventures that are to come! In February, the 3 of us will be back together on the ms Eurodam filling in for another cruise to Hawaii. We’re hoping to work on 2 new trios - probably Mendelssohn and Shostakovich. Can’t wait!!! <3 :’D
Here’s a recording of the first movement of Brahms Piano Trio No.2 in C Major from our final concert in Lunenburg. Enjoy!
