Roger Chase (born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 1953) is a British
violist
The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the v ...
who currently teaches at the
Chicago College of Performing Arts
Chicago College of Performing Arts is a performing arts college that is housed at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The college has three divisions: the Music Conservatory, the Interdisciplinary Conservatory, and the T ...
at Roosevelt University.
Life
Roger Chase was born in London and studied under
Bernard Shore
Bernard Shore (17 March 1896 – 2 April 1985) was an English viola player and author.
Early life
Shore studied at the Royal College of Music from 1912, with Sir Walter Alcock (organ) and Thomas Dunhill (composition), but his time there was int ...
(with occasional lessons from
Lionel Tertis
Lionel Tertis, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (29 December 187622 February 1975) was an English viola, violist. He was one of the first viola players to achieve international fame, and a noted teacher.
Career
Tertis was born ...
) during his studies at the
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...
from 1964 to 1974. He received his ARCM degree
ssociate honors diplomain 1974, one year prior to Tertis's death. He is the current owner of the 1717
Montagnana
Montagnana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Padova, in Veneto (northern Italy). Neighbouring communes are Borgo Veneto, Casale di Scodosia, Urbana, Bevilacqua, Pojana Maggiore, Pressana, Minerbe and Roveredo di Guà. , the popul ...
viola, which is the instrument that Tertis used during the height of his performing career, originally acquired in Paris when it was in pieces. This 17 1/8" instrument was the inspiration for his developing, after his retirement, the Tertis model viola. His hope was to create an instrument more manageable by those with smaller hands, yet with the same deep sonority of his Montagnana. The 1717 Montagnana was acquired by Bernard Shore during Tertis's retirement in 1937 and upon Bernard Shore's death, was passed down to Chase.
Chase made his debut performance in 1979 with the English Chamber Orchestra. Since then, he has played as a soloist or chamber musician in major cities in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, India, and all of Western Europe. He has played as guest principal violist with every major British orchestra and many others in Europe and North America, including the
Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...
. He served as the principal violist of the London Sinfonietta for 10 years, performed and recorded with the
Nash Ensemble
The Nash Ensemble of London is an English chamber ensemble. It was founded by Artistic Director Amelia Freedman and Rodney Slatford in 1964, while they were students at the Royal Academy of Music, and was named after the Nash Terraces around t ...
for over 20 years, the period instrument ensemble Hausmusik of London for 12 years, as well as recording and touring with the Esterhazy Baryton Trio (which has performed the Haydn oeuvre for
baryton
The baryton is a bowed string instrument similar to the viol, but distinguished by an extra set of sympathetic but also pluckable strings. It was in regular use in Europe until the end of the 18th century.
Design
The baryton can be viewed as a ...
) and numerous other ensembles.
Chase has recorded for
EMI
EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
, CRD,
Hyperion, Cala,
Virgin
Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
, and Floating Earth Records. He has taught at the Royal College of Music, the Guildhall School, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the Académie Internationale des Music de Chambre in the Netherlands, and Oberlin College.
Viola concertos
A viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments such as an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Throughout music history, especially during the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras, viola was viewed mo ...
have been written for Chase by
Richard Harvey, Jonathan Lloyd, and Francis Holmes.
External links
Official Roger Chase website
References
* White, John. ''Lionel Tertis, The First Great Virtuoso of the Viola'' (Woodbridge, UK: Boydell Press, 2006): p. 153,296.
*Liner notes to ''Roger Chase and Michiko Otaki'' CD. (Raymond Weiss Artist Management, Inc.)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Roger
1953 births
Living people
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
English classical violists
Roosevelt University faculty
Penguin Cafe Orchestra members