It is my opinion to sustain a thoughtful life in rural America a body has to get out of town.  I accomplished just that this past week by attending a  Viola_Congress in Montreal Canada.  Besides a week of international caliber music performance and instruction there was the chance to experience a bit of culture shock in this decidedly French city.  The up side of the shock was the fine coffee and diversity of food offerings.

The highlights in performance for me were two violists--one new on the scene and one quite seasoned.  The new face was from France, Antoine Tamestit, who played in ensemble and solo.  One person described his sound like chocolate.  In my brief research on his work it seems he is not yet on CD.  And the other moment for me was with Barbara Westphal from Germany who provided the closing concert and had a touch on the viola that reached to the depths.

So it is good to get out of town when we can.