Saskatoon mourns loss of passionate violinist
While battling cancer, she realized dream of recording CD with Amati Quartet
Saskatoon has lost one of its most gifted and determined musicians.
Marla Cole, 49, died on Wednesday in St. Paul’s Hospital. She is best remembered as the principal violinist of the Amati Quartet, in which she played with her husband Geoff.
“Marla’s energy, passion, love and determination in all things made our world sparkle,” Geoff said in an email. “Our two beautiful kids, Carmen and Miles, grew up surrounded by music and Marla’s unstoppable drive and determination. Marla’s endless tenacity and resilience in all things she did, be it performing, teaching, learning, loving, kid’s activities or anything else led a good family friend to refer to Marla as a superhero.”
Cole was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, which recurred in 2014. She suffered severe sideeffects from her treatment, including a loss of feeling in her left hand, which she worked valiantly to overcome in order to continue playing.
“Like a person who loses their hearing, their sight becomes better. I lost my sense of touch and feel and somehow I have figured out how to play. It’s a very strange thing for a string player to not be able to feel the strings, but this is what happened,” Cole told The StarPhoenix in 2016.
One of Cole’s dreams was to record an album with the quartet, which she realized with the help of Cameco Corp.’s Touchdown for Dreams program. The album, Passion for Haydn, was released a year ago, with all proceeds donated to the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.
“Marla’s powerful spirit and tenacity enabled her to not let cancer define her but instead to succeed and realized her dreams and ambitions despite a dizzying array of chemotherapy, surgery, radiation and side-effects,” Geoff said. The Quartet recorded its second album, From the Heart, in February.
“This was a perfect example of Marla’s determination to succeed and kick cancer to one side. The CD will be released at a later date when the time is right,” Geoff said.
“I hope the thoughts I share today will inspire others fighting cancer to stay positive, embrace their family and friends and continue to pursue their passions in spite of a cancer diagnosis. Marla’s passing has ripped a huge hole in our lives and the pain is indescribable but, over the coming weeks and months, we will get back up on our feet, live by the phrase ‘what would Marla/mom do’ and keep marching forward.”
Geoff thanked oncologists Dr. Amer Sami and Dr. Duc Le, the Palliative Care Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital and Cameco’s Jonathan Huntington.
A celebration of life will be held on Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Saskatoon Funeral Home.