In the finals of the 2022 Stulberg International String Competition, Canadian violinist Jacques Forestier earned a silver medal with his performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto's first movement. At 7:30 pm on Saturday, Oct 1, he'll join the Western Michigan University Symphony Orchestra to play the whole work, led by conductor Bruce Uchimura.
Forestier and Uchimura previewed the program, which also features Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "New World" and Wagner's Overture to Die Meistersinger, in a conversation with Cara Lieurance.
Forestier says he imagines the opening of the concerto as a vast icy landscape, and the violin's entrance as a warm, lighted cabin shelter in the distance. Growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, he and his mother drove three hours each way to Calgary for his violin lessons in all kinds of weather. Now, he's enjoying his first year living in Philadelphia as a freshman at the Curtis Institute.
The concert is free and will be held in Miller Auditorium at WMU. More information is available at the Stulberg Competition website.
