When: Jan. 20, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Madsen Recital Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU
Price: Free
Tickets: Not required
The Brigham Young University School of Music will present the annual Primrose Memorial Concert Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Madsen Recital Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center. The Primrose Memorial Concert honors legendary violist William Primrose (1904–1982).
This annual event features violists from around the globe, who, like Primrose, distinguish themselves on the viola and promote its scholarship. Dr. Claudine Bigelow, head of viola studies and chamber music coordinator at BYU’s School of Music, is the director of the Primrose Memorial Concert.
“The Primrose Memorial Concert honors one of the great viola performers of all time and is a long-standing tradition at BYU,” Bigelow said. “When I try and put his work in perspective, people seem to best understand what I mean when I say Primrose was to viola what Michael Jordan was to basketball.”
This year’s guest artist is Jutta Puchhammer-Sedillot. Born in Vienna, Puchhammer-Sedillot is a renowned violist, performer and teacher from Montreal, Canada. This distinguished artist has performed with the Frauen Kammerorchester as a guest soloist in all the major European venues.
“Jutta is well known for her performances of romantic pieces and premieres of new Canadian works,” Bigelow said. “She has rediscovered many pieces that have been lost to our tradition or rarely played. She can be frequently heard at viola congresses all over the world.”
Puchhammer-Sedillot is currently an associate professor of viola and chamber music at the Université de Montréal Faculty of Music, where she served as director of the string section from 1999 to 2010.
William Primrose is known as the Scottish viola virtuoso who helped establish the viola as a concert instrument. In 1974 William Primrose accepted a proposal to donate his memorabilia to the Lee Library as the core of a new viola library. This library has become a national resource center for students, violists and scholars.
To learn more about William Primrose and his connection to BYU, visit the Primrose International Viola Archive on the fourth floor of the Harold B. Library or click here.
Writer: Bailey Fruit
