How did you get into playing the violin?

I grew up in Auckland, the Auckland Symphony Orchestra did these free concerts in the Auckland Town Hall where they would take out all the seats, and you'd bring a cushion or whatever, and sit on the floor. My Mum had two young kids and would take us to those concerts, and the first one she took me to I saw the violin, heard the sound, and immediately said “I need one of these.” I was two. Apparently, I just went on and on about it for months and would not let it go. Eventually, Mum found me the smallest violin you can buy, a 32nd size. It's a toy, it doesn't really play properly, but it was a start, and Mum found someone to teach me. That didn’t last long as the woman (who is a lovely and fabulous teacher) gave me a tissue box with a ruler taped to it, instead of a proper violin (which is a common teaching tool for tiny people, so you don’t drop it). But I was insulted and refused to hold it! After more months of whining, Mum found a new teacher who allowed me to play my real violin because I was now at the mature age of three. And that’s how it started. Hearing the sound, it really resonating with me – and annoying my Mum.

So, from there, did you keep playing?

Yeah, I grew up doing Suzuki method, and we had some really strong teachers in Auckland, who would have concerts or group lessons together, and lots professional violinist that came out of Auckland during that time, came through that group. It was a very strong music scene, and I grew up with lots of ‘big kids’ (a year or two older than me) who are now my friends and colleagues. They were all wonderful violinists that I got to grow up seeing and performing with, and I felt very lucky to be a part of it.

Tell us about your first performance?

The first concert I played was after one or two lessons, and the way we did concerts was that everybody played together, and the pieces got more advanced, and when you couldn’t play any more you sat down. So there were players who had just started learning right through to very advanced all on stage together. All I could play was my ‘twinkle,’ but then I just didn’t sit down and kept scrubbing away. Fortunately, there were about 100 kids on stage playing properly, so you couldn’t hear my piddly excuse for a violin!

My Mum was trying to tell me to sit down from the audience, but I had my eyes closed and was just loving it because all I could hear were all these actual violins, and I thought I was a genius. I played the entire concert. But yeah, that was it for me. I played a concert in front of hundreds of people, with this huge, incredible sound on stage, and I just loved playing in a large group. It’s like the power of performing with an orchestra. I do also enjoy chamber music, but there’s something so addictive about that big sound, and its much less scary than being the only one on stage!

What is the magical moment of performing for you?

The start of the music. Yeah, the start of the magic moment is definitely after tunings finished and we're waiting, and things are quiet, and there’s this anticipation in the air, and sometimes wee bubbles of nerves while we’re waiting to stand up, and there’s this shared feeling of ‘something’s about to happen.’

Funny story…so, when a conductor walks on stage, the orchestra stands as a mark of respect to welcome them. This one time, I was sitting in the audience, and the conductor walked out and the orchestra stood up, and I just automatically did too. Brain was on autopilot. I got a lot of very funny looks - it was quite embarrassing!

Your role with CSO is as Assistant Concertmaster. Can you tell us a little about what that role look like?

I’m Second Concertmaster, so I sit on the inside chair when we have a Concertmaster. At the moment, Martin Riseley has recently left us, so I’m stepping into that chair a lot more and playing First Concertmaster. The role of the second Concertmaster is really to support and facilitate helping the first Concertmaster do what they need to do, communicate across the orchestra, and just as back up. I need to make sure I’m matching them to help create the sound in the section. It’ll be interesting this year because we have four guest Concertmasters. Thankfully I’ve played with most of them quite a lot, with the exception of one, but it will be nice to meet a new face and make music with someone new. It can be a bit of an adjustment figuring out how to support and match their playing.

Wilma one of our guest concertmasters this year was actually one of my teachers, and she’s phenomenal, and she was one of my heroes growing up because she was Concertmaster of NZSO when I was very young. She was the first Concertmaster of NZSO I ever saw, I didn’t realise that female Concertmasters were few and far between in the rest of the world. I took it for granted and never thought there was a ceiling, it never seemed to be a question. Wilma actually came and played as guest Concertmaster in the last concert before the COVID shut down, we chatted about it online and talked about how special it was to sit next to her. It’s really nice to have her back, and playing with her is so easy since I know her playing so well.

Amalia Hall and I grew up a few streets from each other, so I know her and her family well (they’re all wonderful musicians!) and Amalia and I have played plenty of gigs together.

Plus Justine we have for three programs, she’s a wonderful concertmaster and violinist. I’ve played with her before, as soloists in the Bach Double, and I’ve led the 2nds with her as concertmaster, but will be lovely to be next to her. There’s some nice connections.

It sounds like you had a lovely, rich musical upbringing.

Yes, I wasn’t in a musical family, but my Mum did play piano accordion to a pretty high level at school. My Grandad was also a cornet player and played violin as a child. He was the only one in the family who was actively musical, but he passed away when I was quite young. So it wasn’t really a musical family, but a very supportive family, and a Mum who was willing to drive us all over for lessons and wait in the car. Poor Mum. The dreadful noises, because let’s be honest the violin sounds terrible for the first few years. I have to remind my students parents that it will get better (maybe…)!

Do you enjoy teaching and seeing the new generation of players coming through?

Yeah, I really do! I had mixed feelings when I started teaching, because I’ve had some really wonderful teachers, but also teachers that were quite damaging. I’m very aware of being a nurturing teacher and letting them find their way. Teaching, for me, is not about creating musicians but creating humans, and appreciating music is a part of being a rounded person. The things you gain from it are problem-solving, listening skills, working with others, focus, and all the brain activity. I’ve never tried to be an ‘excellence teacher.’ I teach anybody and everybody. For some people its something that enriches their lives, but it’s nothing they’ll ever go further with. As a musician, there’s a responsibility when taking music in the community to make it an enriching part of peoples lives, whatever that looks like.

You’ve played all around the world. What’s it like being a musician in New Zealand?

One of the superpowers of New Zealand is that we are very small. We punch above our weight with a lot of stuff, we’ve got some amazing music and art in general going on here.

The fact that we're isolated is both a pro and a con. The opportunities that I got growing up, I wouldn't have gotten had I grown up in London or in a big centre with 1000 casuals. So I started working as a professional musician in orchestras when I was 16, which would likely not have been an option somewhere else. I was 18 when I did my first gig with NZSO. That’s so young to be playing at that level, and the opportunity was invaluable. I think it’s also important for musicians here to go overseas if possible, and get that experience of being a small fish in a big pond. It kicks your ass in a different way,

How do you as a player feel the orchestra and performing arts world is faring post COVID?

It’s interesting because obviously, I have many colleagues overseas, and they had such a different experience than we did. Our shutdown was essentially a lot shorter, but our restrictions were longer than many places. It was a different vibe here. I have noticed that for some audiences, it's quite a big deal to come back.

For us, we were extraordinarily lucky to be able to continue to perform in some capacity through a lot of the last three years. We had periods where we couldn't, but even so there was still online stuff, and community projects happening.

There have been disappointments across several years, so many things cancelled. But I do think that we've been very lucky here in that we've been quite supported by the government. When talking to colleagues and friends overseas they’ve had to go into freelance or completely different jobs because there just hasn't been the support. We've been very fortunate, and there's a lot of excitement and trepidation coming out of it.

This is the first year that I feel we're back full strength. It feels a little bit more secure, that we won’t have to cancel things. But then also remembering how to go back to full time playing is a little daunting… we’ve just got so much more practice to do than the last few years.

It’s physically demanding when your body is not used to it.

Yeah, it’s physically demanding, and everyone tried to keep that up the past few years but it’s not the same. The performances can be marathons, with a couple of hours of playing depending on the repertoire. It can be hugely physically, and mentally demanding, and coming back to that was so weird. I realised lockdown was the longest I’d ever gone in my life without performing. The only thing I did during lockdown was perform online.

I remember Ben [Benjamin Northey] – I hope he won’t mind me telling this story – but the first thing he conducted after quite some time was back with us in October 2020 for the Proms concert, and there was a moment where he very slightly choked up on stage, the audience wouldn’t have noticed, but he talked about it afterwards saying that looking out at the audience, he couldn’t believe we were there. No-one else in the world was performing at that point. We were incredibly lucky, it’s not good for orchestras not to play. Somehow, there's this instinctive connection that happens with 80 people sitting on stage together, it’s hard to keep that when we have long breaks. Its nice to have that back and to be playing!.

Favourite composer?

That’s so hard! No, no, I can't give you one, sorry, I can't. I’ll give you two.

Favourite composer for me playing personally is Bach, because I think nothing has ever surpassed the unaccompanied suites he wrote for the violin, and I take great delight in informing my students he sketched the first movement of the first one while in jail. Makes him sound like such a bad boy!

For orchestral probably Stravinsky. Just The Rite of Spring, I don’t think there’s anything that has the primal energy of that. At the first performance there was a riot. Stravinsky somehow found this sound and rhythm that made people go slightly insane and that’s been my experience every time I’ve played it. Its phenomenal.

Cats or dogs?

Both! But the current love of my life is a dog called Gus. He actually belongs to Thomas, our Principal Trumpet, but we were flatmates when he first got him, so I was one of the original dog parents. I don’t live with Thomas anymore, but still have Gus visitation rights. I’m the dog auntie and get to steal him whenever I want, plus am first call for dog sitting duties.

Tea or coffee?

Neither. I’m not a caffeine person. I vibrate, and probably have enough nervous energy without coffee. The physical steadiness of playing is so important, and anything that causes a slight tremor is the enemy.

What are you looking forward to this season?

Last Songs. It has the most glorious Concertmaster solo in the entire season repertoire. The whole program is amazing, but two of my favourite pieces Four Last Songs and Petrushka are in that one concert. There’s a lot of really cool stuff this year, but I squealed when I saw that one.