Feb. 03, 2010 - Issue #746: Spine

Soaring Strings: Freebird

Duo flies high with one precious cello

When packing for a flight we generally ensure that our carry-on luggage is air-travel-friendly. We put our large bottles of shampoo and lotion into our checked baggage. We stick small tubes of liquids into those plastic bags we get at security. But when Sébastien Lépine flies, he has to ensure that he has purchased a ticket for his cello.

Lépine, cellist of the duo Soaring Strings, plays on a Stradivarius cello borrowed from a foundation in Quebec that collects rare instruments. He acknowledges that playing on his "Strad," as he calls it, is a lot of fun; however, he also knows that taking this cello on airplanes is, well, not fun.
"We have to make many preventions for the cello," says Lépine, who notes that one such prevention is arriving very early at the gate to explain his needs to the crew—and yes, the cello does get its own seat. "It's more work than a person."

After a successful flight, the soaring Strad is ready for the show. For Lépine, the beauty of playing on a Stradivarius lies in the amazing ability to project sound, and in the kinds of details that he can create with this instrument. Lépine compares this instrument with those of the non-Strad variety, using colour as an analogy to compare the quality of sound produced by the two types of instruments.  

"For a modern cello, it's the red, blue and yellow colour," he explains. "The Stradivarius is like thousands of colours."

A Soaring Strings concert will produce thousands of colours, but not just from the instruments; the duo also includes a light show as a component of the performance.

"We try to use all the space on stage, and also electric instruments, just to show the different colours of the sound between acoustic and electric," Lépine says.

The modern element also shows up in the duo's choice of music—they play a lot of contemporary music, a repertoire that, in Lépine's opinion, does not receive as much attention.  

"To be different is really good," he observes, summarizing the duo's attitude towards the selection of music, and the decision to use lights during performances. "[It's] like a rock show—we try to make the same thing with the classical show." V

Fri, Feb 5 (7:30 pm)
Soaring Strings
Horizon Stage, $20 – $25

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