Christie Reside, flute
Aaron McDonald, percussion
Michael Jarrett, percussion
Vern Griffiths, percussion
George Crumb An Idyll for the Misbegotten
Toru Takemitsu Rain Tree
American composer George Crumb (b. 1929 ) holds a peculiar place in the 20th Century canon. An early post-modernist composer who marched to the beat of his own drum, his music draws inspiration from many sources including nature, medieval monks, Chinese poets, and the imagined sounds of pre-history. The Misbegotten in this work refers to humans, who Crumb views as having lost their connection to nature. Nature, or a stylized, mystical version of it, is very present in this music. The scoring for flute and percussion is no mistake. These instruments represent the first instruments on which humans would have made music. The work was written for the Canadian musician Robert Aitken, who served as the Principal Flutist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for five years, beginning at the age of 19.
Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) occupies a particular place in the classical music world. A largely self-taught composer, his musical influences reflect the cultural mix of post-war Japan in the 1950s. The Beatles, French chanson, avant-garde art and music, and ever-present traditional Japanese and Asian music helped craft a very personal and intuitive musical language filled with beauty and space. In Rain Tree for percussion trio, one of three works he wrote with that title, he explores an idea from a writer Kenzaburo Oe: “It was named the ‘rain tree’, for its abundant foliage continued to let fall raindrops from the previous night’s shower until the following midday. Its hundreds of thousands of tiny, finger-like leaves store up moisture, whereas other trees dry out at once.”
Christie Reside, flute
Christie Reside has been the Principal Flute of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 2004. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Reside earned her Bachelor of Music degree from McGill University as a student of Timothy Hutchins, during which time she won the position of Second Flute with the VSO at the age of 19.
Ms. Reside is a passionate chamber musician, and has been invited to participate in several international chamber music festivals, including the Spoleto Music Festival in Italy, the Bellingham Music Festival, and the Mountain View International Festival of Song and Chamber Music. She has collaborated with artists such as Rudolf Jansen, Patrick Gallois, Jonathan Crow, and Yegor Dyachkov. She frequently performs as a soloist and has appeared as such with the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Quebec City, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria, among others.
Christie Reside is a proud member of the award-winning Standing Wave Ensemble, based in Vancouver. Standing Wave is a new music group dedicated to commissioning and performing works by Canadian and international composers, and they’re excited to have been recently chosen to be Ensemble-in-Residence at the 2020 Gaudeamus Musiekweek in the Netherlands.
Ms. Reside frequently performs as guest Principal Flute with orchestras around the world. She has previously held the position of Principal Flute of the Seattle Symphony, and has also performed as Principal Flute with both the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. In the fall of 2019 she joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for their tour of the Americas.
Currently, Ms. Reside is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, and is also a faculty member at the Vancouver Academy of Music.
Aaron McDonald, percussion
Aaron McDonald is Principal Timpanist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Lake Tahoe Summerfest Orchestra. Prior to joining the VSO he was timpanist with the West Virginia Symphony and performed and toured with the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Since moving to Vancouver he has performed with the VSO Chamber Players, Turning Point Ensemble, Music on Main Concert Series, UBC Noon Hour Concert Series, and the Vancouver Film Orchestra. As a soloist he has performed concertos with the VSO, Calgary Philharmonic, and the Lake Tahoe Summerfest Orchestra. He currently teaches at the UBC School of Music and the VSO School of Music.
Aaron received his Masters in Orchestra Performance from the Manhattan School of Music where studied with Chris Lamb of the New York Philharmonic and Duncan Patton of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He then moved to Cleveland to Study with Tom Freer of the Cleveland Orchestra. Music festivals he has participated in include the Music Academy of the West, Tanglewood, and the Israel International Symphony Orchestra.
Michael Jarrett, percussion
Michael Jarrett is a percussionist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Growing up in Atlanta, Michael began by studying the drum set at age 12.
As a high school student, he found his love for orchestra while playing percussion in the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Michael then went on to study with members of the Cleveland Orchestra while attaining his bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
He furthered his education and experience at the Manhattan School of Music, and received his master’s degree studying under the prestigious MSM percussion faculty. Prior to joining the VSO percussion section, he was a fellow with the New World Symphony for one year.
While maintaining an active performance schedule with the VSO and various ensembles in Vancouver, Michael has also made guest appearances in the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony percussion sections. And during the summers, he has participated in music festivals such as the Tanglewood Music Center, National Repertory Orchestra, and Music Academy of the West.
As an educator, he works with students at the VSO School of Music and has been a faculty member for the VSO Orchestral Institute. Michael is thrilled to be living, performing, and teaching in Vancouver.
Vern Griffiths, percussion
Percussionist Vern Griffiths is one of the prominent players in Vancouver’s musical community. He joined the Vancouver Symphony as Principal Percussionist in 1997, and is also a member of the award-winning contemporary music group Standing Wave. Vern has appeared as soloist with the VSO several times on various concert series, including the world premiere of Nicole Lizée’s percussion concerto “Perxploitation” at the 2019 New Music Festival. He can be heard on recordings with the VSO, Standing Wave, CBC Radio Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble, as well as soundtracks for Disney, Imax, Universal, ABC, PBS, EA Sports, Lionsgate, and Dreamworks.
Vern has appeared as soloist with the VSO, Victoria Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, and Toronto Symphony for dozens of performances of his kids show Wall to Wall Percussion. He also made his VSO main stage conducting debut in 2019, leading a Magic Circle Mime show and the Holly Cole Christmas concert.
Originally from North Vancouver, Vern has degrees in Music and Commerce from UBC, and a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music. A committed educator, he has taught at UBC since 1997, and has directed the Percussion Ensemble since 2005.
Vern is very proud that the Principal Percussion chair is endowed by his friend and generous patron of the arts, Martha Lou Henley.
Christie Reside, flute
Aaron McDonald, percussion
Michael Jarrett, percussion
Vern Griffiths, percussion
George Crumb An Idyll for the Misbegotten
Toru Takemitsu Rain Tree
American composer George Crumb (b. 1929 ) holds a peculiar place in the 20th Century canon. An early post-modernist composer who marched to the beat of his own drum, his music draws inspiration from many sources including nature, medieval monks, Chinese poets, and the imagined sounds of pre-history. The Misbegotten in this work refers to humans, who Crumb views as having lost their connection to nature. Nature, or a stylized, mystical version of it, is very present in this music. The scoring for flute and percussion is no mistake. These instruments represent the first instruments on which humans would have made music. The work was written for the Canadian musician Robert Aitken, who served as the Principal Flutist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for five years, beginning at the age of 19.
Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996) occupies a particular place in the classical music world. A largely self-taught composer, his musical influences reflect the cultural mix of post-war Japan in the 1950s. The Beatles, French chanson, avant-garde art and music, and ever-present traditional Japanese and Asian music helped craft a very personal and intuitive musical language filled with beauty and space. In Rain Tree for percussion trio, one of three works he wrote with that title, he explores an idea from a writer Kenzaburo Oe: “It was named the ‘rain tree’, for its abundant foliage continued to let fall raindrops from the previous night’s shower until the following midday. Its hundreds of thousands of tiny, finger-like leaves store up moisture, whereas other trees dry out at once.”
Christie Reside, flute
Christie Reside has been the Principal Flute of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 2004. Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Reside earned her Bachelor of Music degree from McGill University as a student of Timothy Hutchins, during which time she won the position of Second Flute with the VSO at the age of 19.
Ms. Reside is a passionate chamber musician, and has been invited to participate in several international chamber music festivals, including the Spoleto Music Festival in Italy, the Bellingham Music Festival, and the Mountain View International Festival of Song and Chamber Music. She has collaborated with artists such as Rudolf Jansen, Patrick Gallois, Jonathan Crow, and Yegor Dyachkov. She frequently performs as a soloist and has appeared as such with the symphony orchestras of Montreal, Quebec City, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria, among others.
Christie Reside is a proud member of the award-winning Standing Wave Ensemble, based in Vancouver. Standing Wave is a new music group dedicated to commissioning and performing works by Canadian and international composers, and they’re excited to have been recently chosen to be Ensemble-in-Residence at the 2020 Gaudeamus Musiekweek in the Netherlands.
Ms. Reside frequently performs as guest Principal Flute with orchestras around the world. She has previously held the position of Principal Flute of the Seattle Symphony, and has also performed as Principal Flute with both the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra. In the fall of 2019 she joined the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for their tour of the Americas.
Currently, Ms. Reside is an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, and is also a faculty member at the Vancouver Academy of Music.
Aaron McDonald, percussion
Aaron McDonald is Principal Timpanist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Lake Tahoe Summerfest Orchestra. Prior to joining the VSO he was timpanist with the West Virginia Symphony and performed and toured with the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic. Since moving to Vancouver he has performed with the VSO Chamber Players, Turning Point Ensemble, Music on Main Concert Series, UBC Noon Hour Concert Series, and the Vancouver Film Orchestra. As a soloist he has performed concertos with the VSO, Calgary Philharmonic, and the Lake Tahoe Summerfest Orchestra. He currently teaches at the UBC School of Music and the VSO School of Music.
Aaron received his Masters in Orchestra Performance from the Manhattan School of Music where studied with Chris Lamb of the New York Philharmonic and Duncan Patton of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He then moved to Cleveland to Study with Tom Freer of the Cleveland Orchestra. Music festivals he has participated in include the Music Academy of the West, Tanglewood, and the Israel International Symphony Orchestra.
Michael Jarrett, percussion
Michael Jarrett is a percussionist with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Growing up in Atlanta, Michael began by studying the drum set at age 12.
As a high school student, he found his love for orchestra while playing percussion in the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra. Michael then went on to study with members of the Cleveland Orchestra while attaining his bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
He furthered his education and experience at the Manhattan School of Music, and received his master’s degree studying under the prestigious MSM percussion faculty. Prior to joining the VSO percussion section, he was a fellow with the New World Symphony for one year.
While maintaining an active performance schedule with the VSO and various ensembles in Vancouver, Michael has also made guest appearances in the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the Toronto Symphony percussion sections. And during the summers, he has participated in music festivals such as the Tanglewood Music Center, National Repertory Orchestra, and Music Academy of the West.
As an educator, he works with students at the VSO School of Music and has been a faculty member for the VSO Orchestral Institute. Michael is thrilled to be living, performing, and teaching in Vancouver.
Vern Griffiths, percussion
Percussionist Vern Griffiths is one of the prominent players in Vancouver’s musical community. He joined the Vancouver Symphony as Principal Percussionist in 1997, and is also a member of the award-winning contemporary music group Standing Wave. Vern has appeared as soloist with the VSO several times on various concert series, including the world premiere of Nicole Lizée’s percussion concerto “Perxploitation” at the 2019 New Music Festival. He can be heard on recordings with the VSO, Standing Wave, CBC Radio Orchestra, Turning Point Ensemble, as well as soundtracks for Disney, Imax, Universal, ABC, PBS, EA Sports, Lionsgate, and Dreamworks.
Vern has appeared as soloist with the VSO, Victoria Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Edmonton Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, and Toronto Symphony for dozens of performances of his kids show Wall to Wall Percussion. He also made his VSO main stage conducting debut in 2019, leading a Magic Circle Mime show and the Holly Cole Christmas concert.
Originally from North Vancouver, Vern has degrees in Music and Commerce from UBC, and a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music. A committed educator, he has taught at UBC since 1997, and has directed the Percussion Ensemble since 2005.
Vern is very proud that the Principal Percussion chair is endowed by his friend and generous patron of the arts, Martha Lou Henley.
