Notes for four: the St. Lawrence String Quartet runs like an efficient small business comparable to a family-owned operation

Performing Arts & Entertainment in Canada, Fall, 1995 by Marnie Hare

In an unnamed New York City bar, two Canadian violinists breathe deeply after auditions and acceptance into a reputable Masters program in Manhattan. They should be elated but nagging disillusionment needs analyzing over several drinks. Two more years of learning solo repertoire and course work and the only decent performing will be recitals needed to earn the degree. Before the second round arrives they've admitted to each other that they would rather spend as much time playing and performing as they do learning. One of the two throws out the idea of performing in a string quartet. They decide to phone a cellist and violist they have worked with to see if they are interested in forming a quartet. It is May 1989, and the violinists are Geoff Nuttall and Barry Shiffman.

The plan is to begin a program for this new string quartet in Toronto in September 1989. The proposal is a joint sponsorship of the quartet by the Royal Conservatory of Music and the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, to be funded in part by the Ontario Arts Council and the two institutions for one year. The quartet would coach with cellist Denis Brott, teacher at the Conservatory and violinist Lorand Fenyves, Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Music.

Anyone who deals with institutions of learning senses the indomitable constitution needed to accomplish the ordinary -- much less a proposal, approval and funding for a new venture. To increase the odds, the program must be organized over the summer when no one is around. Carl Money, Dean of the Faculty of Music, Robert Crack, Principal of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Lorand Fenyves and Denis Brott accepted the challenge to help the quartet reach their goal.

The improbable happened; all was in place for September 1989. The St. Lawrence String Quartet was born: Geoff Nuttall, first violin; Barry Shiffman, second violin; Lesley Robertson, viola; Marina Hoover, cello. The sponsorship included a room in the sub-basement of the Royal Conservatory building on Bloor Street and a four concert series at the Conservatory's Recital Hall. Regular coachings were arranged with Denis Brott and Lorand Fenyves and to prepare repertoire for their concert series they worked with senior artists such as Anton Kuerti, Jamie Laredo and James Campbell.

The four descended to their `home' in the sub-basement that was now fitted with a rented refrigerator and microwave. Except for brief forays to perform on their concert series, freelance with the Amadeus Ensemble, or sleep for a few hours, they stayed in their room and rehearsed, all day, every day. Barry Shiffman remembers it as a long and gruelling, horrible year. Geoff Nuttall simply reflects that the more you work a quartet the worse it gets for a long time -- and then it gets better. It was during the `worse it gets' period that the quartet had to think about what they would do when the year was over. The Juilliard School has a Quartet-in-residence program but their deadline for September 1990 admission was within weeks of the St. Lawrence String Quartet's inception. After three weeks of rehearsal they recorded and sent an audition tape to Juilliard. They were not surprised to be rejected.

There were few performances that first year. One of the two that paid their professional debut in May 1990 on the Preview Concert series at the historic St. Lawrence Hall in downtown Toronto. Critics may remember any uneven playing but the audience was enthusiastic; the applause predicted a successful future.

At the end of their first year together, the quartet had established a momentum and commitment; they were ready to coach with a professional string quartet. They knew of four schools in the U.S. that offered residency programs for young quartets. The Juilliard School had turned them down already so they auditioned and were accepted by the other three: Yale University with the Tokyo String Quartet; the University of Hartford, the Hartt School of Music's New York residency with the Emmerson String Quartet; and the Manhattan School of Music with the American String Quartet. They quickly decided against the Manhattan School for financial reasons but the process of choosing between Yale and Hartford was an agony that lasted until the last possible hour. They listed all the pros and cons. They listened to recordings of the two quartets and then decided that they couldn't decide; both quartets were impeccable.

On D-eadline Day, they called the Deans of Music of the two schools and talked to them about their programs. The first call to Yale caught the Dean on an "off" day. The conversation was tensely coloured with impatience and annoyance for the brashness of these upstarts. The next call to the Dean at Hartford was friendly and helpful. He promised the quartet every request. He convinced the quartet that Hartford was the right choice and, to his credit, ensured that his promises were fulfilled. After a gruelling 15-hour meeting, the St. Lawrence String Quartet decided to study with the Emmerson String Quartet and called Yale to decline their offer.