“If a child can play regularly in a youth orchestra, whether in school or outside of school, marvels in development can occur.”
How did Bellingham become your home?
I’m a Westcoast girl. I’m not too good with snow and cold, so when my now-husband Victor Costanzi and I got together and joined forces, he knew there was no way I would settle anywhere other than the Westcoast. We also both had very long careers in Vancouver, BC., and I was born in Seattle. Additionally, our blended family — five kids, all live in Canada. So, we left New York and came to the beautiful Northwest. Ferndale was an obvious choice, close to the border and temperate. And I love the farmland as I have some roots in Everson, my mother’s side.
Tell us about your journey to the violin as your instrument of choice?
Both my parents were professional musicians, my mother a cellist and pianist, and my father a bassist, pianist, organist, and composer. My mom taught us five kids piano at age 5 and, when I was 10-years old, the magical Mr. Eugene Nastri of Everett, WA. (where I went to school from age 8-18), tapped my shoulder in flutaphone class and said I would play the violin. Uh, okay…
Where did you complete your musical studies?
I graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle with a bachelor’s degree, where I studied with the phrasing genius and pure musician Hungarian Denes Zsigmondy. From there, I studied Violin Performance on consecutive Fulbrights with the infamous Russian pedagogue Max Rostal in Cologne, Germany, and spent summers in Master Classes with Nathan Milstein in Zurich and Aaron Rosand in Nice.
Are there any musicians, mentors, or teachers in particular who played important roles in forming your thoughts and attitude as a musician?
I would say that Mr Nastri was a magician, yes, a magician, and a wonderful musician. He was a Pied Piper, and taught so many school children, many who went on to fabulous pro careers. He molded his students with his gentle encouragement and playfulness.
Upon joining the Seattle Youth Symphony, my first big “Aha!” moment — when I knew I would grow up to be a violinist, was due to the leadership of the towering and inspiring Vilem Sokol. Those were extremely formative years for me. If a child can play regularly in a youth orchestra, whether in school or outside of school, marvels in development can occur.
As a seasoned pro, my interests turned to HIP — “historically informed performance” of the Baroque period. I had wonderful teachers in the British violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch at the Carmel Bach Festival and Toronto’s Jeanne Lamon of Tafelmusik.
Share some of the musical experiences moments that have most inspired you — performances you’ve been involved in, or watched?
In the middle of my performance career with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Anna Sophie Mutter came to perform the Beethoven Violin Concerto. I thought I’d been transported to heaven. It was an angel with a violin in her masterful hands.
A few years later, I had an enlightening experience. Mstislav Rostropovich came to conduct Tchaikovsky’s 4th with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. I thought, “Oh, not again….” Well, that was a life-changing experience. Another great performance was with the great Vadim Gluzman, also coming to perform Tchaikovsky with the VSO. What? Am I hearing David Oistrakh!? It surely could’ve been. What lineage!! Regarding vocalists, I love many, but I simply used to swoon over the voice of Jonas Kaufmann and, a decade back, was all set to attend a Met performance with him. But that was the year he got ill and had to cancel. What are your (current) favorite classical pieces? Or other types of music? I continue to get lost, and found, in any of Gustav Mahler’s works. I love opera and Early Music performance. I also love listening to my middle son, Spencer Cole. Two- time Juno and Polaris nominee, he is a brilliant Canadian composer and performer of his own creations, generally indie/pop-ish and exceedingly clever, along with an inspirational piano album called “Unbroken”, based on his love of the paintings of the Inuit and, particularly one artist, the late Annie Pootoogook. You can hear him on Bandcamp. And I fiddle around a bit, finally starting to “loosen up” and improvise with an old buddy of mine from my youth.
What was the most unusual performance you were involved in?
I guess I would have to say it was the ringside performance of a piece written for the orcas of the Vancouver Zoo and the Vancouver Symphony. The orcas have long either died or were moved elsewhere, but I remember making sounds similar to theirs: crooning and moaning long downward slides. They would repeatedly surface, slapping their bodies on the water, one time very close to getting us wet. It was transformative for me. Maybe it was for them. But, additionally, I would like to add that I had another transformative experience with one of my creative co-productions. My colleagues and I performed movements from “Carnival of the Animals” with a bell choir, and not any ordinary bell choir. This production highlit a little-known special needs community who would play the bells as part of their daily activity. The director was brilliant, and she gently led and coaxed these wonderful human beings through the learning process of when to play their special tones in “The Swan”. It was absolutely inspiring and emotional.
What do you love to do besides music?
There are many things I am devoted to, and probably the most important one is sharing my diverse knowledge of the art of creating music, with or without the violin, and then sharing this gift with all ages.
I find I learn so much every day from my students. It is exhausting but affirming. Additionally, I absolutely love the earth, planting and creating beauty in our surrounds.
When we bought our home, there were no gardens. I cannot imagine living without gardens. So, it has been, and continues to be, a constant in my life when March rolls around.
I also love horses. I learned dressage for several years when I still lived in North Vancouver and would drive out to Langley, BC. My school horse was named Spice, a spicy 24-year-old, and she constantly schooled me! I have not ridden much since coming back to the coast, but I plan on doing some Western riding. Shopping for cowboy boots.