Eliesha Nelson

I thought I'd explore this way of communication and musical convening via ether. I have a great job as a violist in the Cleveland Orchestra, but it's nice to do something in music of my choosing, hence my interest in recording. Many of my colleagues in the Orchestra have a rich musical life outside of Severance Hall. Some love to teach, others perform chamber music concerts, recitals and the occasional solo with orchestra. And of course, most of us have hobbies ranging from film making to photography to triathlons.

My interest in recording began about eight years ago when my friend John McLaughlin Williams told me about his experience recording and suggested I look into it. JMW is a talented musician/conductor and a real music geek. He had lots of ideas of composers to investigate and also introduced me to Victor and Marina Ledin, producers with much experience and incredible musical knowledgeable. So I spoke to them, and they had more ideas for me to explore. At first, the whole thing seemed daunting and way beyond what I felt I could handle. I had just begun at the Cleveland Orchestra, and I was still learning basic orchestral repertoire. I contacted the Ledin's a few years later and rekindled the idea of recording.

I eventually decided on the viola repertoire of Quincy Porter as my first project (and hopefully not my last!). I didn't want to do something standard (I play plenty of standard repertoire in the Cleveland Orchestra), but I wanted something that interests me musically and expands the boundaries of what violists tend to play. I thought an American composer's full body of music would be interesting, so that became the direction of my investigation.

There are more 19th and 20th century composers who wrote original music for viola, but so much of it is out of print and hard to acquire, that most violists seem to go for the limited number of mainstream works for the instrument. I have come across lots more fascinating, beautiful, and intriguing music for viola that has become lost. I have my friends to thank for leading me in the right direction, but a great library and internet search engine also do wonders for finding music.

Categories: Quincy Porter Project • Recording

Tags: Quincy Porter Project, Recording