Announcing A New Niente: Violinist Tarn Travers
Ensemble Dal Niente proudly announces the latest addition to its roster of musicians, violinist Tarn Travers! Tarn is a familiar face to fans of Dal Niente, having appeared with the ensemble on several past occasions including performances of Georg Friedrich Haas’ in vain and the recent Neue Musik Tour. Join us in welcoming Tarn to the ensemble, and enjoy getting to know a bit more about him in our Q & A below!
Q- Tell us a little bit about your background. Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
A- I grew up in Washington state for the most part, where my mom is the local violin teacher. I'm the youngest of four kids, and all of my older siblings played violin. Of course, I really wanted to be like my siblings and play violin as well, so I told my mom that I wanted to start when I was three. She said that I was too young and too immature, and I am sure that she was right! When I was five, some of our extended family came and visited, and all of my siblings took out their violins to play for them. I felt so left out that I went into a closet and found a tiny violin and sawed away on it as well, and I'm sure it sounded absolutely horrendous. My mom finally decided that it was time for me to start.
Q- What were some of your earliest experiences with contemporary music? How did those experiences inform and shape your career?
A- Honestly, it is hard to pinpoint my first experience with contemporary music. I first met and worked with living composers in high school, and it has been an interest of mine ever since. Though my taste in new music was a bit more conservative back then, my interest in living composers and lesser-known composers of our time has led to me being asked to perform music that was further and further out of my comfort zone. Though initially I had a pretty strong fear of the unknown, now I really enjoy the process of delving into the unknown in an attempt to discover a composer's world!
Q- Tell us about your experiences working with Dal Niente up until this point. What are you most looking forward to as you join the roster?
A- My first experience playing with Dal Niente was in Georg Friedrich Haas' masterpiece in vain. It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my career! I had not played very much music that used this type of musical language up to this point, and I was just about as far out of my comfort zone as I could imagine. And yet I was struck by how everyone around me really seemed to be completely at ease with this type of music, not that I found this extremely comforting! But in spite of the terrifying practice and rehearsal process, I felt that the piece and the performance expressed something completely indescribable with words, and that made the entire process worthwhile. I was completely sold on the piece and the ensemble both.
I love playing with Dal Niente because the musicians are absolutely phenomenal. I love exploring repertoire and composers' sound worlds with them, and being among passionate advocates of great music. I'm really thrilled to be joining!
Q- Any fun, little known facts about yourself that you can share with our fans?
A- The only other passion that I have had since I was 5 is my love for skiing, which I started even before I started violin.