Volume 21 Issue 1 - September 2015

WE ARE ALL MUSIC’S CHILDREN
September’s Child
Mary McGeer
MJ BUELL
Mary McGeer lives in Toronto’s east end with her husband Rollie Thompson, a law professor.
When she’s not making words-and-music magic she’s a voracious reader who loves watching old
movies (1930 to 1950s).
Mary McGeer is artistic director of the Talisker
Players chamber music concert series. She’s also
general manager and principal violist of the larger
flexibly sized Talisker Players
Choral Music Orchestra dedicated
to collaborating with
choirs. McGeer also freelances
with diverse ensembles in and
around Toronto, from baroque
to new music. Principal violist
of the Huronia Symphony from
1998 to 2010 and a member of
the Phoenix String Quartet for
ten years, she is also a teacher
and chamber music coach.
The Talisker orchestra came
first, arising out of a one-off gig
in 1995 where McGeer assembled
a chamber orchestra to
perform with a choir. Today
the ensemble is an accordionpleated
marvel that shrinks and
grows according to the needs of the repertoire. It’s
made up of fine working musicians who have a
shared appreciation for music that has words.
Talisker Players chamber music concerts,
“Where Words and Music Meet,” came a bit later.
Their four-concert series of chamber performances
celebrates its 20th anniversary this year at
Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre (as does The WholeNote).
Talisker’s themed concerts of works for voice
and chamber ensemble are usually narrated by
an actor – always an engaging blend of vocal and
instrumental music, poetry, and theatre.
Mary McGeer doesn’t remember her childhood
photo being taken – she was barely two. But
the photo and the context reflect both an early
interest in literature and an environment that
nurtured it.
McGeer grew up in Arvida, Quebec, in the
Saguenay Valley. After high school she went to
McGill University where she studied history and
political science, later completing a diploma in
performance at Université Laval. She studied viola
in Toronto and New York.
Your absolute earliest specific memory of
hearing music? The records my parents played:
there were children’s records (Burl Ives…)
also opera, and lots of Broadway. I still know
all the words to several Broadway musicals.
Opera – not so much.
Were there other musicians
in your childhood
family? No – they’re pretty
much all scientists.
How did hearing music
figure in your childhood
life? Radio and records
at home, music at school
and in church, but not
much live performance.
Occasionally we would
hear touring performers
in recital.
First memories of
making music? Student
recitals – also the annual
Jeunesses Musicales
competitions, always
nerve-racking.
Did you sing as a child? No, other than
hymns in church.
What was your first instrument, and why?
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS! HERE’S WHAT THEY WON
Dear Readers,
You are all Music’s Children too.
And when there’s a
birthday party for
The WholeNote, ALL of Music’s
Children are invited.
Please come to a very special concert
on Friday September 25, 7pm in
Jeanne Lamon Hall at Trinity-St
Paul’s Centre. A reception follows
the concert.
Come meet, greet and celebrate The
WholeNote’s 20th Anniversary with
performances by many favourite
artists featured over the years in this
column. Hosted by Mary Lou Fallis
and The WholeNote’s editor-in chief,
David Perlman.
This concert is free of charge, but a
ticket is required. See this month’s
back cover for full details.
Come and share this happy evening
with The WholeNote’s
extended family.
We look forward to seeing you,
jack buell
P.S. Watch out for the next “Mystery
Child” in our October edition!
Piano. There were very few teachers of other instruments in that rather remote area
at the time.
What do you remember about a first music teacher? Mme. Partous – I still have a
vivid picture of her. She was a fine musician and gave her students an excellent grounding
in theory and history, as well as technique.
Your first experiences of creating music with other people? There was not much
opportunity in that part of the world. The closest would be accompanying my
church choir.
What do you remember about your first times performing for an audience? I was
always nervous about performing – possibly in part because I tended to be a crammer in
preparation. As a youngster, I always preferred sight-reading – or fooling around on the
instrument – to serious practice. That did change later on.
What do you think are the roots of your later appetite for staged works and multidisciplinary
performance – the words-and-music aspect of what Talisker does? It
would be my life as a bookworm, probably. Also, a lifelong interest in vocal music, and the
joy of accompanying it, whether it’s choirs or solo singers.
Do you remember when you began to think of yourself as a career musician? Not
really, it sort of snuck up on me... .
You are invited to read an expanded version of this interview
online at thewholenote.com.
Renovated Rhymes (Oct 27 and 28, at 8pm) is Talisker Players’ first concert of the 2015/16 season, at Trinity-St. Paul’s Centre.
Mary McGeer says it’s a fun program inspired by playful wordsmiths like Ogden Nash and Dennis Lee, and featuring tenor
James McLennan and baritone Doug MacNaughton – both terrific singers who are also great comic actors. Ross Manson is
the evening’s actor/reader. There is a pre-concert talk at 7:15pm For all the intriguing and entertaining program details visit taliskerplayers.ca.
WholeNote readers Bastien Woolf and Gwynn Arsenault each win a pair of tickets.
Music’s Children gratefully acknowledges Thom, Kay and Peter.
56 | Sept 1 - Oct 7, 2015 thewholenote.com