Western Performs is a concert series that is executed by the students at The University of Western Ontario (UWO). The collaboration between the Don Wright Faculty of Music, The school for Advanced Studies in the Arts and Humanities (SASAH) and the UWO library facilities is what makes this all possible.
This was the third and final performance of the semester for the Western Performs concert series.
The UWO students performed 4 pieces of early Beethoven music. The first being a trio consisting of violin, played by Gianna McGrath, Isaac Lee on cello and Megaria Halim on piano. McGrath said she had been playing and performing for 20 years, while Lee and Halim said they had been playing their instruments for about 7 years. However, the trio noted that they have been playing together for only one year.
The next group that played was a quartet that wrapped up the last two pieces of the set. The quartet consisted of cello player, Ivan Fabara, viola player Karen Duong and violinists Kirit Mascarenhas and Frangel Lopez Casena. The group said they like playing these pieces because it forces them to play challenging pieces that they normally don’t get to perform. The quartet group belongs to the charitable organization called Magisterra Soloists. The chamber music group, currently hosts a roster of over 35 international musicians, hailing from over 13 countries, a repertoire of over 100 works, more than 70 concert performances and two dozen school outreach visits. The group was established in 2015 by internationally-acclaimed violinist and Artistic Director, Annette-Barbara Vogel.
The group has 2 upcoming shows, one in Guelph and the other in London. On April the 30, Magisterra Soloists will be at the St. George’s Church located at 99 Woolwich Street in Guelph. The group is then back home on May 2 at 421 Ridout St N, the home of Museum London.
