Caitlin Boyle, Viola   www.ceciliastringquartet.com, alum
Ann Vallentyne holds a very special place in my life.  Although I never took chamber music coachings or private lessons with her, she has had such a huge effect on my life.  I realize now that she is one of the original masterminds behind SOCMI, which has played such an important and developmental role in my life. 

I first attended SOCMI at Redemeer College when I was eleven, and to me all of the important things were in place; coffee, bagels and cream cheese every morning, and a ping-pong table.  At the time I didnʼt realize how fortunate I was to be exposed to some of the artists that came to teach at SOCMI, like the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Terrence Helmer, and David Zafer.  I look back now and honestly canʼt believe that I had the opportunity to work and be surrounded by such amazing, inspiring, not to mention world-class musicians, at such a young age. 
Chamber music is one of the most fulfilling kinds of classical music and southern Ontario is so fortunate to have such a gem of a festival right in its own backyard.  Ann realizes this and has worked long and hard for this to be in place. 
Since my younger years at SOCMI, I have performed other chamber music concerts in and around this area and Ann is almost always there, following and supporting my hopeful career.  And it is thanks to her that I am now following my heart in this chamber music direction.  

Martin Beaver, First Violin, Tokyo String Quartet
It is my distinct pleasure to join in the celebrations of the 20th
Anniversary season of SOCMI and to honour Ann Vallentyne for her extraordinary efforts
 and dedication over these years.

  As a teenager in Hamilton, I was fortunate enough to meet Ann and to prepare
 and perform two chamber music concerts with her in the Dundas Library. It was
 an invaluable experience to learn two great works of chamber music (Schubert's
 "Trout" Quintet and Beethoven's "Archduke" Trio) at such a young age. What 
made these experiences even more special to me was coming in contact with Ann,
 whose tireless love and dedication to chamber music, great tact and diplomacy  
during rehearsals and consummate professionalism were great influences on me 
during those years.  

Ann's love and devotion to chamber music and her vision in creating an
 environment to educate young musicians in chamber music were key in the founding of 
SOCMI twenty years ago. SOCMI quickly became an important and invaluable
 chamber music institution in Canada and has remained so to this day, continuing to
 enrich the lives of young musicians in the great art of chamber music.

 I would like to send my heartiest congratulations to SOCMI on its 20th
Anniversary and my deepest thanks to Ann Vallentyne for her vision, her super human 
efforts and for inspiring countless young musicians over the years, myself
 included!




Ryan Davis, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, alum


"My experience with SOCMI was fantastic. The focus on chamber music was really provoking for reaching new levels musically. SOCMI was a great opportunity to meet various professional musicians who were dedicated to helping each player develop. All the faculty were kind and extremely fun to be around. I was also fortunate to meet other musicians from all over Canada. I particularly enjoyed playing with our quintet ensemble at an art gallery as an extra chance to perform the music that we had been working on! Another great thing about SOCMI was the faculty concerts. Every single concert was a treat for the community to see inspiring performances! A highlight for our "Saskatoon Quintet" was being able to compose a piece of our own with Kelly Marie-Murphy guiding us along the way. We had an awesome time working together. There were many great people who organized this program. Overall, SOCMI was a chance to play in a small ensemble and orchestral setting while learning new things every day. Everyone left the session feeling stronger about their musical capabilities. Most importantly, everyone made friends that we will always remember! Thank you SOCMI!"



Daniel Bard, Tel Aviv, alum
"about 18 years ago, only few months after moving from Haifa, Israel, 
to Toronto, I found myself in a chamber music festival in Hamilton. As 
a 13 year old, all I knew then was that my teacher, David Zafer, 
really recommended it. I remember driving to SOCMI with David and when 
we got to McMaster University the first person we met was Ann 
Vallentyne! I remember thinking to myself that this woman has tons of 
energy!!! but this was only the initial impression because after that, 
in the next years to come, I had many wonderful experiences at SOCMI. 
And slowly this impression of 'tons of energy' changed to complete 
gratitude for creating this environment which gave me and my 
colleagues much musical inspiration as I we were growing up.  And this 
creation of Ann Vallentyne is a huge achievement which all of us will 
not forget. Thank you Ann for all those years and for being who you 
are. 

Donna and Arthur Green, Sandown, NH, parents
SOCMI was the highlight of my daughter’s summers.  The repertoire, the high quality of the instruction, the very pleasant accommodations but most of all the happy camaraderie of fellow musicians in an encouraging environment made it an extraordinary experience. It was a joy to us to see her get so much pleasure out of music. She is now a member of the Kingston Symphony Orchestra and would love nothing more than to have her own quartet.

Akemi Mercer
, violinist, Hessische Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Frankfurt, alum
When I think back to the years when I became serious about music and the violin, I can't help but associate them with SOCMI and the people I met there.  How lucky am I to have learned Beethoven Op. 18 no.1 when I was 13, and to have had such wonderful coaches as Zdenek Konicek, David Zafer, Terence Helmer and the St. Lawrence String Quartet. These people are true masters of music and their influences have been priceless.  I will never forget the kindness and patience of Mr. Konicek, or the incredible violinistic information from Mr. Zafer and playing Brahms c minor for Terence Helmer and hearing his stories about the Orford Quartet and his profound musical philosophies that we were perhaps too young to fully grasp.  Then working intensely with members of the St. Lawrence String Quartet on the Ravel Quartet in preparation for the National Music Festival.  I always received such inspiration from them and their spontaneity.  I learned from them, that one should always be searching, in every note and every phrase.  This is what makes music alive.


It was not only the teachers who influenced me, but also the other people who were involved in SOCMI, the other students and the members of my quartet who have also become my best friends.  I will be forever grateful to Ann Vallentyne for her vision, dedication, humanity and continued support.  She knew how important string quartet playing was for young musicians and made it happen. She allowed us to be surrounded by wonderful mentors, work hard, learn the best music there is and have fun.  I still remember in our first years when she would order huge pots of soup for us for lunch.  It felt like home-cooked meals and it made the whole experience so comforting and special, especially when we were so young.  And my three dear friends Tori Lindsay, Nadia Klein and Caitlin Boyle with whom I played quartet for 8 years, will always be part of my life. At SOCMI we grew up together.

I believe I will always feel that playing string quartet is the most enjoyable, rewarding, educational and thrilling experience a string player can have.  And although I now have a job playing in an orchestra and love what I do, I will always seek fellow musicians also eager to play string quartet (and they are always easy to find!).  I also feel that I would not be where I am if I hadn't learned to play chamber music at a young age.  Many musicians end up playing in orchestras, and to me this is like one huge chamber ensemble.  Your ears need to be just as wide open as in a quartet and you are always adjusting to the people around you while contributing your voice to the whole. I am a firm believer that it doesn't matter how many Paganini Caprices you can play, if you cannot play a string quartet, you cannot be a complete musician.  Maybe that's just my excuse for not being able to play all the Paganini Caprices, but I don't think I'm completely wrong! 

I hope that SOCMI continues to support and nurture young musicians far into the future. 




Andrew Deaville, cellist, alum
SOCMI was an amazing experience for me. The 2 weeks were aways jam-packed with masterclasses and rehearsals with professional ensembles coaching, world-renowned performers giving lessons, and concerts of the professional and amateur caliber alike. Playing in a chamber group is one of the most fun and rewarding aspects of playing music I find, and SOCMI helped develop, nuture, and enhance this, not only musically, but also promoting friendly and encouraging environment to be able to bond with the other students there.


P.S. I would LOVE to come back for another year, but unfortunately I have already planned to goto New York from the 11th to the 15th of August. This is very disappointing for me, to have to miss SOCMI, but I hope it is a great success!




Rory McLeod, violist, alum
I'm writing to you from Banff, where I'm currently taking part in the master
class programme, and I wanted to take the time to thank you, Anne and the
wonderful coaches I worked with for making SOCMI a life-changing experience
for me.  It was after my first year at SOCMI (2000) that I decided to start
taking lessons again after a two-year hiatus.  I played violin then, and got
more and more serious about it through my last year of high school and
through my four year B.A. at McGill.  Eventually I ended up taking up the
viola and falling in love with it.  I've now finished my second year at the
Glenn Gould School with Steven Dann, and am on the path to pursuing a career
as a musician.  Since my last year at SOCMI, I have played as a soloist with
the NYOC and the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, and I will always be an avid
chamber musician.  It sounds like an exaggeration, but I really don't know
if I would be at this point if I hadn't been so inspired by that first
experience at SOCMI, and from the two times that I returned (2001 and 2003).
 I will always be grateful for the role you all played in my transformation
into a "serious" (but still light-hearted and happy) musician.

Adrian Fung, cellist Afiara String Quartet, SOCMI faculty member, alum
I first met Ann Vallentyne at the Oakville Suzuki Camp, where I had several lessons with her. I was struck by her gentleness and generosity, by her patience and the immediacy of her wisdom. I was impossibly hard on myself as a child and Mrs. Vallentyne's glowing manner was a warm encouragement and gave me hope.

I remember the first time Mrs. Vallentyne told me about SOCMI about fifteen years ago. She said something like, "Adrian, would you like to come to SOCMI?" And I hesitated because my brain translated the acronym aurally, and I thought she was asking me if I wanted to sock her. She didn't seem to ask the question belligerently, with her kind eyes. But still I hesitated and stammered, "No..."

I remember her laughing, explaining the Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute and her agreeing that it was an odd -- "but really fun" -- pronunciation.

And here I have to say that SOCMI was essential, absolutely instrumental, to my growth as a musician. There is no reservation when I say that, if it weren't for SOCMI, I would probably be hosing down cars. Mrs. Vallentyne made it possible for me to meet David Zafer (who introduced me to the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra, where I met David Samuel, the violist in my current quartet), to meet the St. Lawrence Quartet (where Geoff and Barry, after a playing in a masterclass, pulled me aside and told me to "go bananas" and "go into music"), and I could go on and on. From the Gryphon Trio's incredible performances to the brilliant coachings by Marcel St.-Cyr and Terence Helmer, SOCMI was the beginning of it all for me.

I have always been grateful to Mrs. Vallentyne for introducing me to SOCMI, but more for her constant support and love for all chamber music. Above all, even though I wasn't supposed to know, she supported my scholarship to study at SOCMI.

And the last I saw Mrs. Vallentyne was at the Banff Competition, where, after our performance, I waited for her shuttle to take her back to her hotel. She complimented our quartet, with a twinkle in her eye that made me feel as if I were twelve again, and I thanked her. I had a flood of things to say about how much I appreciated her introducing me to chamber music, but the night air seemed a little too thick and the small van arrived a little too soon. I wanted to let her know exactly how thankful I was for all that she had done for me, for my career, for my love of music but somehow it didn't seem like my words carried enough weight.

As she boarded, I helped her on, holding her fragile hand. I'm not a very articulate man, but I hope she knows how often I think back to those days of instruction and inspiration, and the impression she has left on my life.

RACHEL MERCER began her cello studies at the age of three in Edmonton, Alberta. She continued in Vancouver and Toronto, earning the Gold Medal from the Conservatory and performing solo with the Vancouver Academy Chamber Orchestra, Mississauga Youth Orchestra, Oakville Symphony and Chamber Players. While at the University of Toronto with Shauna Rolston, she played Bloch’s Schelomo with University orchestra as winner of the concerto competition. Rachel has also appeared with the Canadian Music Competition orchestra and Huron Symphony (Dvorak), Banff Festival Orchestra (Penderecki) and joined the Toronto Symphony and National Arts Centre orchestras with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations for a series of children’s concerts. After an MM from the New England Conservatory with Laurence Lesser, Rachel moved to Europe. During studies in Amsterdam with Dmitri Ferschtman, she won the Vriendenkrans Competition of the Concertgebouw with her duo partner Jelger Blanken. This led to recitals in the Concertgebouw, the Vredenburg in Utrecht and other venues in Holland. Her recording of Fauré’s Elegie from a Noorderkerk, Amsterdam recital was in the top 10 requested classics of Dutch national radio. During this time, she also played several recitals in the Toronto area; at the Glenn Gould Studio, the Heliconian Club for Les Amis, and at the First Unitarian Church, Hamilton.
Rachel has also participated in numerous festivals for masterclasses and as a member of the Metro Quartet from 1994-2000. She worked with teachers such as Janos Starker, Boris Pergamenschikow, Frans Helmerson, Lynn Harrell and Aldo Parisot at festivals such as Prussia Cove, the Verbier Academy, the Steans Institute at Ravinia, the Banff Centre, the Orford Arts Centre and Scotiafest. Rachel received the first Orford Quartet scholarship from the Canada Council and represented Canada with the Metro Quartet at the International Week in Graz, Austria in 1999.

Rachel joined the Aviv Quartet in 2002. The quartet has performed in Europe, China, Israel, Brazil and the United States. During their 2003 tour of South Africa, Rachel performed the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Kwa-Zulu Natal Philharmonic in Durban. The quartet recently completed their third CD of a Shostakovich cycle which will be performed live at Wigmore Hall in 2006.

RACHEL’S MEMORIES OF SOCMI 
“I can't believe it has been 10 years since I was at SOCMI. Perhaps this is because I still have contact with fellow participants and organizers. Perhaps this is because I am still doing what I was doing then: playing quartet and loving it. Perhaps it is because I also have amazing memories of those many summers of quartet immersion.

I played my first string quartet at SOCMI, and it has continued to be a major part of my musical life ever since (...besides two unhappily absent years...being too busy with individual study). For the past two years I've done nothing else! As the cellist of the Aviv String Quartet, I've been able to travel all over the world (Israel, Europe, South Africa, Brazil, North America...) and spend hours and hours every day with three musicians that I respect and admire, studying works and composers that inspire and awe us.

On top of that, we've been living in Paris. I'm writing this note in an internet cafe on a - ok, rainy - day off from rehearsal in the 8th arrondissement, surrounded by patisseries, foreign accents, and in view of the Sacre Coeur. We can enjoy being here for a couple of weeks while we prepare our fall program (seven new quartets). In a few days we play in Salzburg; two other programs of some of our favourite pieces -- Beethoven, Shostakovich, Schubert...and then it's on to London and Israel, after an all Brahms concert in Paris. It boggles my mind that I get do exactly what I love every day, and am constantly enriched by the experience!

The point of all this, of course, is that what I learned at SOCMI prepared me for this life. We worked so intensely and had lessons with people who really knew what it means to be a quartet member. And the people who took care of us were and are constantly supportive. I will be so happy to see them again when the Aviv Quartet comes to Southern Ontario next February!”

FROM RACHEL’S PARENTS, CARLENE AND BILL MERCER 
This past summer my husband and I found ourselves in an historic old abbey in Provençe listening to an award-winning string quartet. Twelve summers previously the cellist from the quartet had had her first experience in a string quartet at SOCMI. Her younger sister, a violinist, also learned to love the richness and intimacy of string quartet playing during many years at SOCMI and is presently in Germany studying violin and playing in several chamber ensembles. 

Both of our daughters have made chamber music their career. SOCMI has had a huge influence in making their dream a reality. As parents, we appreciated the excellent coaching by teachers and artists-in-residence and encouragement and hospitality of the dedicated staff, and we marvelled at the progress made after two weeks at the summer institute. But most of all SOCMI instilled a passion for chamber music in our daughters that will spill over and enrich all aspects of their lives. Thank you, SOCMI.