One of things that keeps our ears and instincts sharp is to recognize new collaborators when we see and hear them when they don’t share our history – and invite someone new into our own artistic circle to enrich and colour our work. Long friendships will often form the core of our music-making and the longer we work with people, the more free we can potentially be, and the more subtle the musical result. But adding new energy into that mix can be such a potent experience and challenges us in ways we need, to keep our collaborative selves working to be better and more flexible.

     As we embark on this 20th season of WCM, the artists involved are truly a mix of those beautifully simmered musical relationships (Judith Pearce, Matt Sullivan, Anna Lim, Tannis Gibson) and spices added later in the mix (myself, Andy Waggoner, Nurit Pacht, Dan Panner, Pavel Vinnitsky). Add to this the partnerships both old and new (including Adam Schommer, Gina Cuffari and Pascal Archer) that make the opening wind concert such a beloved tradition, and the mix becomes even richer. No matter old or new, the integrity of the collaboration remains, and the contributions and points of view balanced and traded. This festival, it seems to me, has always held that value through the musicians involved, and the openness and enthusiasm for the work is one of the great joys of doing what we do.  As a new Co-Artistic Director, I may be helping people with housing and other logistics during the festival, but my title otherwise turns over “collaborative artist”. If anyone is tempted to defer to my musical opinion because of my otherwise title, I will be sorely disappointed! I look forward to great exchanges, great arguments and musical experiments, all to sharpen my ability to make wonderful things happen in music in ways I couldn’t imagine on my own.