Jan Martens
MERSHON AUDITORIUM, 1871 N. HIGH ST.
614-292-3535, www.wexarts.org
Three dancers will be center stage for the domestic premiere of Flemish choreographer Jan Martens’ dance “Rule of Three.”
8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
$22, or $19 for Wexner Center members, $10 for students
In 1982, when violinist David Niwa was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he quickly realized that it was an imposing place.
“is the wrong word, but it’s very serious,” said Niwa, who graduated from the conservatory in 1987 and now serves as the assistant concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony.
“You walk into this mansion, and you’re standing on Persian rugs, and it’s all mahogany paneling,” Niwa said. “You feel like you’ve walked into high society — and you have.”
The atmosphere changed when Niwa met a fellow student, violinist Paul Roby.
“There are these two guys back there having a boatload of fun, goofing around, making slides — sort of playing very romantically in the orchestra, which is sort of a no-no,” Niwa said. “I’m like: ‘Who are these guys?’ And one of them was Paul.”
Thus began a three-decade friendship among Niwa, Roby and the third student: Charles Wetherbee, later the concertmaster of the Columbus Symphony.
Two of the three friends will reunite Sunday at the Columbus Performing Arts Center. As part of the Sunday at Central series, Roby will join the Canaletto Ensemble, featuring Niwa, cellist org
Pei-An Chao, violist Ken Matsuda and pianist Mariko Kaneda.
Niwa and Roby first connected over games of ping-pong.
“There was a ping-pong table in the basement of Curtis,” said Niwa, 54. “That’s where we spent our break time and ate our lunches and goofed around.”
Roby, now a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, remembers other nonmusical pursuits, including football and ultimate Frisbee.
“It is amazing how few people got hurt,” said Roby, 51.
Yet the bond the students formed made the experience of attending the Curtis Institute less stressful.
“You’re around basically the best kids in America at what they do, and these old, famous teachers that are pushing you,” said Roby, who graduated in 1988. “We found a lot of ways to release that tension.”
This Sunday’s concert is titled “The Philadelphia Sound,” a reference to a manner of music-making instituted by Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Leopold Stokowski (1882-1977).
“There’s a kind of dark, low overtone richness to (the) Philadelphia (Orchestra),” Roby said, “that you don’t find in a lot of other places.”
The program will open with Niwa, Roby and Kaneda on Moritz Moszkowski’s “Suite for Two Violins and Piano.”
“Sometimes these things are like a duel, like a fencing match,” Niwa said. “I’m pretty sure that things are going to happen onstage that did not happen in the rehearsal.”
Antonin Dvorak’s “Piano Quintet No. 2” will feature Roby with the full Canaletto Ensemble; although only Niwa and Roby share musical training, all of the artists are sure to be on the same page.
“Even though Ken and Pei-An did not go to Curtis,” Niwa said, “it’s kind of hard not to be pulled in by the character in his playing.”