The first time the Cecilia String Quartet performed for children with autism in California, the experience left its mark on the acclaimed group.
They saw families really enjoying the music together and speaking to them afterward, violinist Sarah Nematallah, GrDipMusic’10, heard ‘we’re never able to go to things like this’.
She pursued the issue and spoke to more people, hearing things like ‘we were actually asked to leave a symphony concert’ because their child couldn’t sit still, didn’t know when to clap or found the noise a bit too strong and wanted to change seats.
“I saw an audience that was very interested in the music, that got a lot out of the music, but didn’t have equal access,” says Nematallah.
It planted the seed for the quartet’s Xenia Concerts series, launched in 2015, for children on the autism spectrum. In May, Nematallah was recognized for her work on the series with the McGill Alumni Association’s James G. Wright Award, given to young alumni who have made a difference in their community.
“I’m really, really grateful,” she says.
The Cecilia quartet stages the customized concerts at Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, which donates space for four performances a year. They’ve also started to perform them in other locations, such as Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, and further afield with upcoming dates in Ottawa, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Nematallah co-founded the concert series and has led the initiative, but is quick to point out she couldn’t have done it without the help of her colleagues. The Toronto-based quartet also features violinist Min-Jeong Koh, GrDipMusic’10, cellist Rachel Desoer and violist Caitlin Boyle, GrDipMusic’10.
They’ve always felt that classical music should be accessible to anybody, Nematallah says. The group has built its career playing in big concert halls, but also places where people wouldn’t normally have access to classical music, like a jail and a school for homeless youth.
For a year or so before the first Xenia concert, Nematallah talked to a lot of people. One of them was clinical psychologist Irene Drmic, director of the Autism Research Unit at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, with whom the quartet had a few sessions about autism. They also workshopped the concert programs with her. “We just sort of ran them by her and said ‘will this work’?” Nematallah says.
They have to customize a lot of things at the Sony Centre for the concerts such as covering mirrors so there are no visual distractions, Nematallah explains.
They have floor seating, a dance floor at the back of the space and a quiet zone “so if a kid is overstimulated they can go to this area to get a break from the sound,” she says.
“We definitely say this is a friendly space where you’re allowed to listen in whatever way suits you. So we’re not fazed by noise, we’re not fazed by movement, and as long as you’re not fazed by it too, you’re welcome to come to the concerts so that these people can be free.”
Born in Montreal, Nematallah grew up mostly in Toronto. She attended McGill’s Schulich School of Music – along with fellow members of the quartet – obtaining a graduate diploma in music.
“It was wonderful. The music school is highly respected at McGill. I had a lot of resources and we were very well taken care of.”
She recalls it as an intense year of training “that really helped me take my artistry to the next level.”
After finishing at McGill, the Cecilia String Quartet got a big career boost by winning first prize at the prestigious Banff International String Quartet Competition.
Xenia Concerts Inc. became a not-for-profit organization last year. Nematallah would like to seek out other audiences in the future “that are overlooked for whatever reason” and is trying to bring in more artists to offer more concerts.
“I think the reaction is what has kept this initiative going and what has inspired me to grow it because it’s been overwhelmingly positive.” Nematallah acknowledges it’s really rewarding.
“I don’t want to do this just to make myself happy,” she adds.
“I think most artists want to feel that art is needed in the world in some way. And I think that this series is really a testament to that.”
More Torontonians celebrated by McGill
The McGill Alumni Association (MAA) honoured members of the McGill family at its annual Honours and Awards Banquet in Montreal on May 2. Recipients came from near and far and, in addition to Sarah Nematallah, included other Toronto-based alumni.
Business leader Gregory David, BCL/LLB’93 (pictured right), received the E.P. Taylor Award for his outstanding voluntary fundraising efforts in support of McGill. As a director of the Larry and Cookie Rossy Family Foundation, David played a key role in a landmark gift that established the Rossy Cancer Network, and, more recently, with new gifts that support scholarships and student mental health and wellness. David also established the Robert J. David Bursary in Dentistry in honour of his father, a Montreal dentist, long-time member of McGill’s academic staff, and past recipient of an MAA Distinguished Service Award himself. David is an active volunteer in McGill’s Faculty of Law, currently serving as Chair of its Advisory Board, and he also supports the Faculty through the Gregory J. David Foundation.
The McGill Alumni Association of Toronto received the Alumni Event of the Year Award for its roaring success staging the McGill24 Open-Air Pub. The event, led by branch vice-president Jamie Lee Rogers, BA’13, and a committee of volunteers, was held at Hemingway’s Pub in downtown Toronto on March 16, 2016, to coincide with the inaugural McGill24 “day of giving” fundraiser. The Toronto activity was the highest attended social gathering in the branch’s history – and drew the biggest crowd for a McGill24 event staged that day throughout the McGill network, with more than 300 people participating. The McGill community in the Greater Toronto Area contributed nearly $67,000 to McGill in 24 hours in 2016 and raised that to $161,500 for the 2017 edition of McGill24.
