Sunday, January 5, 2025, 3:00pm
Darke Hall
Meika Sonntag was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Western Ontario. While obtaining her Bachelor of Music with an Honors in Viola Performance, she also completed a minor in Theatre Studies. Having started on violin at the age of 3 Meika found her passion in viola at the age of 13. She is currently in her first year of a Master’s of viola performance degree at the University of Toronto under the study of Professor Rémi Pelletier.
Meika took part in many diverse ensembles and opportunities throughout her time at Western. This has included chamber groups such as string quartets, piano quintets, and violin, viola, flute trios. She was also part of the Western Symphony Orchestra and the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, where she has sat principal for many pieces, the Western Chamber Opera Orchestra, where she sat principal for Handel’s Alcina and Verdi’s Falstaff, and the Western Early Music Studio.
In her four years at Western Meika took part in a number of competitions. From 2020 – 2024 she was a competitor in the Young Ja Park Chamber Music Competition. In 2021 and 2022 she was a finalist in the Maritsa Brookes Concerto Competition. Meika also auditioned for the inaugural London Symphonia Fellowship and was one of five fellows given this award. This allowed her to perform with the London Symphonia in four concerts as well as learn from the professional musicians around her. Meika is also one of four recipients of the Irene Miller Fellowship through the University of Toronto which allows her to work and perform in a string quartet with like-minded graduate students.
During her time at Western University Meika also took part in many performance opportunities that took place in the greater London community. She performed with the First St. Andrew’s string ensemble, as well as performing in the pit orchestra for the ‘Original Kids’ performance of Bright Star. Additionally, she took part in performances by the TOCA chamber collective which was created by peers at her school. Prior to her time at Western, Meika was part of forming the Fiearro String quartet and performed with this ensemble for 10 years, beginning in 2010. The quartet went on to win the 2018 Chamber Music portion of the Canadian National Music Festival. In addition to university groups, Meika has played with many large ensembles such as the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony Orchestra, and the Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Meika has also had the opportunity to perform with artists such as Michael Bublé and the 2Cellos.
Canadian pianist Rachel Andrist is recognized internationally for her insightful musicianship, sophisticated pianism and generous collaborative spirit. Following her studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music and the St. Louis Conservatory, she joined the music staff of Théâtre Royale de la Monnaie in Brussels as Chef de chant. She has also been on the music staff of the Salzburg Festival, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Salzburg Easter Festival, Glyndebourne Festival, Netherlands Opera, English National Opera, and Scottish Opera, serving as répétiteur for such conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Antonio Pappano, Ivor Bolton, Vladimir Jurowski, René Jacobs, Valery Gergiev and Kazushi Ono. Of particular note was her position as Studienleiterin for the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival from 2009 to 2012 and for Copenhagen’s Royal Danish Opera, where she was Head of Musical Projects. In 2010, she joined the staff at the Canadian Opera Company and the Glenn Gould School of Music.
Early studies with Martin Isepp fostered a lifelong love affair with song repertoire. She has shared the recital stage with acclaimed artists including Sir Thomas Allen, Klara Ek, Ekaterina Gubanova, Jason Howard, Quinn Kelsey, Elliot Madore, Heidi Melton, Allyson McHardy, Adrianne Pieczonka, Sondra Radvanovsky, Franz-Josef Selig, and Elzbieta Szmytka. Ms. Andrist is presently the Head of Accompanying at the University of Regina’s Conservatory of Music and is a frequent guest at the University of Toronto’s Opera School and the Oslo National Opera in Norway.
Robert Ursan holds degrees in music from Oberlin College, the University of Toronto and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. He has written three operas, seven musicals, incidental music for twelve Globe Theatre productions, over one hundred arts songs as well as works for piano, viola, flute and string quartet. He has directed, musical directed, written – singly or in multiple combination – over 150 productions in the last 30 years (the record is nine shows in the 1999-2000 season). He is currently Artistic Director of Do It With Class – Young People’s Theatre, with which he has worked for the last three decades. The Viola Sonata you will hear today was written especially for Meika Sonntag as a graduation gift.
