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, a current doctoral student who won the 2017-18 Classical Concerto Competition back in November 2017, is set to perform with the McGill Symphony Orchestra under the baton of guest conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni. To learn more about this opportunity, we spoke to Timothy in a recent email exchange.

Can you speak about the concerto that you will be performing with the MGSO January 19th and 20th? How does it relate to the research you have begun for your dissertation?

Beethoven鈥檚 Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15, was written in late 1795, and was likely premiered at a concert in December that year. Correspondence from a source there notes that Beethoven was working on the finale up until the concert. It was performed again more significantly at the Burgtheater in April 1800 after being revised that year by Beethoven and then sent to be published in 1801.

Interestingly enough, although this is the first published piano concerto by Beethoven, it is actually his third attempt at the genre. A very early draft for a piano concerto never reached completion, and the Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19, was actually composed in 1788, several years before Op. 15. However, Op. 19 was published a few months after Op. 15, which is why the catalogue numbering is actually not chronological.

As a pianist, I think I am required to love all of the Beethoven piano concerti (and I do, all very differently)! In this concerto, Beethoven鈥檚 compositional voice is much more mature than in Op. 19; this perhaps manifests most obviously through unifying rhythmic motives and tertiary key relationships, among many other details. However, what I love most about this concerto is the tone of the joy that shines through the maturing compositional style. In late Beethoven, there is joy, but it is joy of much more experience, a deeper and transcendent feeling, usually shaded or conditioned by moments of darkness. In this piano concerto, the joy is not so encumbered by a darker backdrop. Instead, it culminates in a rondo-scherzo finale that is almost reckless in its humour: wit, laughter, and even biting sarcasm, all expressed through a smile.

Now, for the other question . . .

My dissertation is a research-creation project that commissions politically engaged music and uses those pieces to provide examples of how to situate the oft-neglected performer in the perspectives of music semiotics and music perception (two very different fields, but it just so happens that much of the research in each fails to address the performer!).

So, in short, the relation of my research to this performance is a bit oblique. That being said, I never think any learning is ever completely unrelated. Regardless of how much my dissertation topic changes or evolves, I have discovered so much during my research in music semiotics, which is鈥攊n a very boiled down explanation鈥攖he study of music as a system of forms that initiate the phenomenon of 鈥渕eaning鈥� or reference. The reading I have done in this field has given me many new ways to think about music, and as a performer, has inspired considerations of how I can manipulate or control the inception of sound based on what is written in the composer鈥檚 score, and why I do so. This has certainly carried through as I learned this concerto and also each time I perform it.

When you won the 2017-18 Classical Concerto Competition this past November, you were accompanied by a fellow pianist. Will your approach to performing on stage change when it is no longer another pianist, but an orchestra beside you?

Yes and no.

Not much changes with how I conceive my part. While learning the concerto, I used the full score, not a piano reduction, and so in my head, I heard the different parts. My fellow pianist, Alex Soloway, was amazing because he also knew which instruments he was supposed to be representing, and would change his approach and sound at the piano accordingly.

But of course, there will be adjustments I will have to make from playing with a piano to an orchestra. Balance and projection will be much different, to be sure. There is also a certain solidity of time that a soloist experiences when playing with an orchestra: with a body of musicians, rhythmic pulse generally stays quite steady, or moves in such a way that facilitates everyone doing so together. This phenomenon simultaneously gives a stability that the soloist must abide by, but also on top of which much freedom can be taken.

So, not much changes in my 鈥渁pproach to performing on stage,鈥� per se; rather, I would say I have a responsibility to maintain flexibility to make music with whoever is on stage with me, and performing with a fellow pianist is a different kind of flexibility than performing with many orchestral musicians.

As the MGSO鈥檚 artistic director Alexis Hauser is on sabbatical this term, three guest conductors will conduct the orchestra this semester. For your performances, the orchestra will be prepared by the the OSM鈥檚 assistant conductor Adam Johnson, and conducted by the current artistic director of the Orchestre de chambre I Musici de Montr茅al Jean-Marie Zeitouni. How do you think the opportunity to perform with these invited guests will influence your musical education and career?

I honestly don鈥檛 know. That seems like a terrible answer, but it鈥檚 true!

A life lesson I keep learning again and again is not to expect particular things from any experience or person. Rather, I have an open mind and heart: I am excited to make music with many of my peers here at the Schulich School of Music, and I look forward to seeing what I can learn from Maestros Johnson and Zeitouni. As for how it will influence my education and career, I won鈥檛 know until later.

A graduate of Indiana University鈥檚 Jacobs School of Music, what drew you to the Schulich School of Music?

In short: my intuition.

I will always look to my time at Indiana as one of the best things that could have happened to me. The environment was exactly what I needed鈥擝loomington is a wonderful, quiet, smart town, and provides the isolation needed to intensely focus on music without much distraction. In addition, my teacher there, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, was a musically-inspiring guiding voice, and just as importantly, an honest voice. I grew so much there as a person and as a musician.

My first visit to Montr茅al, the weekend of my audition and interview, brings vivid memories to my mind. To many, these memories may sound negative: the air caught in my lungs because it was so cold and dry when I stepped out the doors of the airport; my toes went numb on the way to my interview because I didn鈥檛 think to bring my thick socks; quite a bit of snow fell that weekend, and the wind whipped it into my face no matter where I walked or which direction I was facing; I lost my voice and got a fever the evening before my audition.

I, however, was enchanted. I immediately fell in love with the city. Unlike many North American cities, it truly has an identity all its own, and it was very welcoming to me. The Schulich School of Music itself also seemed like a great place to learn, make connections with peers and professional musicians outside the United States circles, and seek new research experiences.

Ultimately, when it came time to decide where to pursue my doctoral studies, it was very hard to step out of the familiarity of schools in the United States, and in particular, it was very difficult to leave Indiana University. I am so glad I did, though. The experiences I have had here at McGill are not necessarily what I expected, but they are certainly what I have needed to continue to grow, both as a musician and a person.

Do听you听have听any听future plans in the听works?听

Always! I have several performances coming up, both solo and collaborative, including my final doctoral recital here at McGill. I鈥檓 also finishing coursework this term, which means planning ahead for my comprehensive exams and lecture recital. In addition, I am finalizing programs for some recording projects with Stefan Fong, a sound recording graduate student I met here with whom I love working.

For more information or details on what I have coming up, feel free to visit my website: .听

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Hear Timothy Ledger听perform with the McGill Symphony Orchestra on January 19 and 20, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. in Pollack Hall.听.