Chamber Music, Music Making Between Friends – A Gift for All
Chamber Music really is for everyone. This is the core idea behind QSCM’s mission: if you show someone something that is truly beautiful, they will come to appreciate it even if they’re unable to articulate how it makes them feel.
– Sebastian S.
Chamber music is unique in its intimacy: it is music created initially for small rooms to be played and listened to by friends and family. May 25, the Quinte Society for Chamber Music celebrates a decade of making that experience accessible to all in our rural communities. We’re having a party and everyone is invited!
Among the guests: musicians from the Madoc Quartet, including Sebastian Sallans, QSCM’s artistic director and Patricia Morehead, internationally respected, and I daresay venerated Canadian composer, and her partner, Philip Morehead, equally admired and renown.
We sat down with Sebastian, a founding member of the Madoc Quartet, to discuss his musical journey with Patricia, the impact of her mentorship, and how their connection has influenced the Madoc Quartet.
Q: Can you share how you first met Patricia Morehead? What drew you to her work?
Sebastian: Sure! It was actually quite an unexpected meeting. My first really professional orchestral job was as principal second of the North Bay Symphony. After our first concert of the season, the personnel manager asked me if I could give one of their volunteer members a ride back to Toronto that evening. Of course, I agreed—no problem at all.
That person turned out to be Patricia Morehead. I didn’t realize who Pat Morehead was. I was just happy to give someone who needed it a ride. When I mentioned to a friend, a professional oboist who had recently completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts, she nearly lost her mind. “Pat Morehead? Are you kidding? I just wrote an entire dissertation on her. She is a legend!”
So, I picked her up, and we began a long drive back to Toronto—about four hours. We ended up having a fascinating conversation about music and life. It was my first real experience of connecting deeply with someone that senior and respected in the profession who was not one of my instructors. Along the way, we had an unexpected detour to pick up a forgotten wallet. By the time we stopped for dinner, I ended up playing Bach in a tiny fish-and-chip place in Northern Ontario. It was an impromptu performance, and Pat, who had a lot of experience herself, really appreciated it. We got along well from that moment on.
Q: It sounds like a memorable evening. How would you describe Pat’s influence on your career and the work of the Madoc Quartet?
Sebastian: Pat’s influence on me was profound, especially in the early stages of my career. I had already been familiar with modern composers, but working directly with Pat opened up a whole new world for me. She really pushed me to expand my understanding of contemporary music. With the Madoc Quartet, we’ve continued to work with her, and her music has shaped the way we as an ensemble as well as individual musicians, approach modern composition.
Her encouragement has opened doors for the Madoc Quartet. We’ve performed her music in various contexts, including premieres, and each time it feels like a new chapter in our musical journey. I really admire how she blends modern influences with the unique Canadian sound she’s developed over the years.”
Q: Tell us a bit about the first time you played music written by Patricia Morehead.
Sebastian: The first piece I performed of hers was a string quartet. Thats what string quartets (4 string musicians playing together) play – String Quartets. I know – it’s confusing. Anyway, she’d written this string quartet. She knew I was working with a string quartet and we’d just finished a round of concerts. So she asked us take on this quartet and perform it at a Canadian Music Centre event in Toronto celebrating her work as a composer. In 2024 for QSCM’s All Terrain Tour I brought it out again with the Madoc Quartet. It was an interesting challenge as we had been performing more traditional, Classical and Romantic repertoire. The structure, the “sound,” what we have to do as string players to produce it, is different. But everyone was excited to take it on. Once we got into it we really enjoyed it. Bringing the music of a living composer to life is really rewarding in so many ways.
Q: What makes her composition style unique or special to perform?
Sebastian: Patricia’s music has a very distinct Canadian flavor, particularly one that reflects the Northern Canadian landscape. It’s sparse, yet rich—there’s something about it that captures the feeling of being in Northern Ontario or Quebec. It’s as if you can feel the cold air, the vast stretches of pine trees, the rocks, and the sense of isolation you get from being in that part of the country.
It’s beautiful in a very stark and specific way. I think that’s what makes her music so captivating, it speaks to the natural environment in a way that few composers can. When we perform her works, we always try to bring that same sense of space and openness to the performance. Her music really captures the essence of the Canadian Shield.
Q: What does it mean to you to have Patricia and Philip attend the AGM?
Sebastian: Having them attend means a lot to us. The chance to just kick back and make music in a fun casual way with her and Philip and the other musicians coming, being able to share that with our QSCM volunteers and friends means celebrating all the relationships we’ve built over the years. I’m really looking forward to it.
Q. What can we expect from the musicians at the AGM PARTY May 25?
Sebastian (Laughing): I have no idea! Seriously, this is a party with a lot of really fine musicians attending. It is not a formal concert. We’re just getting together to celebrate what QSCM has done over the last ten years and what we are going to do next. We will have our instruments with us, and – well, we prefer to play than to talk so there will be music making. It is a chance for everyone interested in what QSCM is doing to connect with the music we love playing in an intimate and informal setting as we play what and how we feel like in a casual context.
Q: What message or feeling do you hope people walk away with from this event?
Sebastian: I hope people walk away with a sense of connection to the music, to the musicians that make it, and to the story behind it all. The AGM is a special opportunity to celebrate not just the work of QSCM but also the incredible relationships that fuel our art. For me, having Pat come to our AGM and enjoy casual music making with us, that is musicians associated with QSCM is a like completing a circle, a circle of friends and influences and supportive community partners.’
What makes the Quinte Society for Chamber Music (QSCM) community special isn’t only the calibre of musicianship—it’s the intimacy, the generosity, and the relationships that form between artists and audiences alike as we work at making the music accessible to all.
Sebastian reflects on the core idea behind QSCM that the AGM will celebrate: “If you show someone something truly beautiful, they’ll come to appreciate it—even if they can’t articulate why.” That belief shapes every decision. Performances like these aren’t driven by box-office returns. They aren’t about ticket sales or chasing visibility—they’re about building something personally meaningful. As Sebastian puts it, “There are a lot of gigs out there that pay the bills, but this is different. This is about assembling something that feels alive and generous. You don’t do it for money. Musicians have to pay their rent just like everyone else, so professional musicians have to get paid. But that isn’t why we do what we do. We do it, make music, I mean, and especially chamber music, because it gives us the chance to work on that rare, deep level with people. How often do you get to spend that much time with people you care about creating something real?
That’s the heart of QSCM: chamber music as a conversation among friends. Support from people like Patricia Morehead and Philip Morehead, the engagement of musicians such as those who make up the Madoc Quartet, other QSCM guest artists over the years who’ve come along, all these musicians pass the influence of artistry across the generations. Musicianship is an apprenticeship art. The dynamic flows both ways and it’s about inspiration, and encouragement as well as skill and knowledge.
May 25, QSCM celebrates 10 years of sharing chamber music with all. We’re calling it the AGM, but we’re going to PARTY! We hope you can join us.
R.S.V.P. info@qscmusic.com
