For many U of T students, music always plays a key role in daily life. But all too often the sounds rising from within our own university are overlooked. This is somewhat understandable, considering the Faculty of Music (Edward Johnson Building) is so neatly tucked away, hidden by the ROM and concealed by the Faculty of Law. But every now and again, a student strolling along Philosopher’s Walk will hear the gentle melodies rising from the Faculty-a pleasant comfort during these cold snowy days. But over the past year, there has been new music within the department: the passionate tones of violinist Scott St. John.
St. John’s journey to U of T is a delightful story. It’s the tale of a man always on the road, performing with many ensembles, settling in New York, but finding in the end that all roads lead to U of T. His good friend Shauna Rolston, an acclaimed cellist and faculty member, e-mailed him about an opening for a position in chamber music instruction. Up to that point in his life, St. John had never really considered teaching, nor was he looking for openings anywhere. “I hadn’t planned it out, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made,” he recalled in a recent interview. And so, after a long road traveled, this one-time prodigy and winner of numerous awards found his niche in the U of T Faculty of Music.
So what exactly is his niche? Scott St. John has a passion for chamber music, a once-celebrated form of music performance where ensembles are small and intimate (anywhere between 2-12 performers). And so his instruction in this type of music comes from his belief that chamber music truly teaches skills of team-building and cooperation in a unique way that other methods cannot emulate. His teaching has brought this spirit to U of T’s 20 chamber music ensembles as he constantly strives to develop the Chamber Music program within the faculty. Unfortunately his efforts too often go unnoticed by other students and the general public, though they are well known to some.
St. John has played a prominent role in building the Faculty’s Chamber Music Outreach program. This program, now in its third year, encourages chamber ensembles to be out in the community, sharing their gifts of music. Through the outreach program, U of T musicians frequently perform in hospitals, schools, homeless shelters, and almost anywhere they feel their musical gifts would be appreciated.
Unfortunately, this program has thus far failed to catch the public eye, but St. John feels a sense of personal success, and knows that the many groups in the community that hear the performances greatly enjoy them. And this program is not the only one that rewards people with the gift of chamber music. St. John has been thrilled with the development of the Felix Galimir Award for chamber musicians. This award program is designed to promote excellence and merit in chamber music performance, all leading to greater musical and life skills in the process.
And so with all these projects occupying him at U of T, St. John is delighted to be part of the university and the city as a whole. But even though he has a most rigorous timetable at school, St. John has certainly not given up on his prolific performing career. He still travels widely, attending chamber music festivals around the world, meeting many musicians, and gaining the wisdom that comes from being a globetrotter. He also performs here at home with the Music Toronto Chamber Society, and most notably with the renowned Juno Award-winning Amici Ensemble. Coincidentally, Amici happens to be the current Ensemble-in-Residence at the Faculty of Music, bringing St. John’s chamber music world full circle-where performance meets instruction.
Just before coming to U of T, London-born St. John had been living in New York, one of the brightest artistic stages in the world. And while many would say that Toronto just isn’t on the same level as New York (or London, for that matter), St. John would beg to differ. “Toronto is poised to take a stand in classical music,” he says, recognizing the city’s tremendous potential, along with its beautiful strength in multicultural diversity. He notes that Toronto has only a few steps to take to emerge onto the world stage of classical music.
One of those steps is better recognition of Toronto’s classical music arts community, not to mention the rich Faculty of Music community at U of T. St. John has expressed some disappointment at the lack of student attendance at Faculty concerts (especially when the concerts are free!), where the half-full Walter Hall or MacMillan Theatre are usually populated with mostly non-students. He is certainly not without sympathy for students’ busy schedules and the pressures of student life, but also stresses that classical concerts are a very engaging (and cheap) form of recreation; like the recent Bach Cantata festival, a series of free lectures and concerts which were both challenging and entertaining.
St. John also offers some very optimistic advice to the busy and first-time concertgoers, noting that it’s usually people who attend a concert for the first time that enjoy it the most and often get hooked on the experience. He uses a clever analogy to explain: “For a child, fast food is terrific and easy, but as you grow up you yearn for something more nutritious.” And with his tremendous performance record, St. John is no stranger to seeing and meeting enthusiastic students in the audience, and with that knowledge he hopes that more U of T students will step out to performances in the future.
The Faculty of Music and teaching are at the center of St. John’s foreseeable future-he’s eager to continue to develop its core chamber music programs and outreach programs. He also plans to participate in many more performance projects, including performing Beethoven’s violin sonatas, and contemporary composition performances. And so, when students walk by the Faculty of Music on one of these wintery days and hear the vibrant singing tone of the violin, they should know that there’s a new song being played at the department by one very dedicated and talented virtuoso.
Scott St. John and fellow U of T Music prof, cellist Shauna Rolston, play Brahms’ Double Concerto with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from Feb. 18-21 at Roy Thomson Hall (see our article on how to score cheap tickets to the symphony in last Monday’s special All-Arts issue). The Amici Ensemble (minus St. John, who does however join them when his schedule allows) perform Mar. 5 at the Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC.
