There seems to be something about Kolkata that draws people to come back and commune with its cultural oeuvre in so many diverse fields. This happened recently when concert violinist from Australia, Sunny Roh, came back to the city after a 10-year hiatus at the invitation of conductor Sanjib Mondol under whose baton she had performed Vivaldi’s Summer. Accepting with alacrity, because there were two concertos that had rarely been heard before, which were performed back-to-back, first at St John’s Church and subsequently at the GD Birla Sabhaghar. The first was a Bach Violin Concerto in A Minor, which was followed by the premiering in this city of a Mendelssohn violin concerto in D Minor. Unusual because the composer wrote it when he was thirteen, a true child prodigy, who had between the ages of 12 to 14 composed as many as twelve string symphonies. This particular concerto has been described as something which is “filled with Mendelssohn’s signature freshness and lightness of touch....youthful products, but written with an assurance startling in its maturity.”
So, at centre stage, we witnessed a delicate chanson-like performance of this concerto in perfect unison with the Kolkata Symphony Orchestra, by the lithe Sunny Roh, clad in a Prussian blue sari with turquoise motifs, totally at ease in it; the harmony surely was a result of the “four rehearsals of four hours each”. An encore solo violin sonata followed of a Bach Largo from the Sonata No 3 in C Major.
The focus then moved to the Calcutta International School choir helmed by choir master Tathagata Mukherjee which ended on a soulful pre-Christmas high of their rendition of Hallelujah.
One never likes to take away the magic of the moment post the concert; hence a telephonic interview the next day gave much insight into the dedication of a musician like Sun Roh, who spent some time working with the Oxford Mission players, in an effort to “give back to the community.”
Roh’s hometown Sydney sees her teaching the violin and chamber music at the Roh Music Academy, coaching advanced music students for violin, piano and ensemble studies, engaging in artistic performance projects and being a passionate chamber musician. But we see the broader picture when one learns of her as a concert violinist performing throughout Europe, England, Korea, Russia and Australia. She made her debut playing with the Mozart Violin Concerto with the Green Peace Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Kenneth Kiesler in Korea and Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Harding. She received a full scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and graduated with first class honours for her Bachelor of Music, studying with Mateja Marinkovic, garnering numerous prizes and graduating with Master of Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
She performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Horsham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Pope in England, Termini Violin Concerto with the Accademia Capella Orchestra, St. Petersburg, conducted by Rudi Eastwood, gave recitals in St. Petersburg and Moscow and was invited to join the Verbier UBS Festival Orchestra in Switzerland and toured USA and Europe with conductor Charles Dutoit. A crowning achievement was the important scholarship from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Italy to study with Giuliano Carmignola, who later became her mentor at the Luzern School of Music, Switzerland. Studying under Carmignola, who was described by Gramophone magazine as “a prince among Baroque violinists”, her repertoire widened to include Baroque, Classical and Romantic music, and today she embraces and presents the music of Brahms, Bach, Beethoven, Schumann, amongst other composers. The high point in Switzerland was winning the audition and taking the full-time position of second concertmaster of the prestigious Symphony Orchestra St Gallen. Previously she took the invitation to join the International Menuhin Music Academy.
Additionally, Roh was invited to perform at Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland and worked exclusively with Pierre Amoyal, Pavel Gililov and Bruno Canino at the Academy of Music in Lausanne, serving as a jury member for Kendall National Violin Competitions and performing with aplomb as a soloist twice with the Beecroft Orchestra with conductor Dr. Joanna Drimatis.
Roh performs at GD Birla Sabhaghar Rita Bhimani
Her recordings have recently been released on Spotify, Apple Music and her latest major performances include the Sibelius Violin Concerto with Hills Shire Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Chris Upton in June 2024.
But what has been her Kolkata experience? A little offbeat, one would say, as she took in the local markets, visited some significant temples, the Jain temple having attracted her the most, did a tour of the Indian Museum and St Paul’s, and mostly looked ahead at planning the next big visit, with Sanjib Mondol, but this time with the exhortation that wind instruments be introduced into the orchestra. Western classical music has its core followers, but patronage needs to happen in a much larger measure and the addition of woodwinds would enhance the repertoire of any orchestra. The current one saw support from industrialist Varun Thapar, himself a gifted musician, but more than that, a patron who holds elegant home concerts and extends a helping hand to individual musicians.
Roh with Kolkata Symphony Orchestra conductor, Sanjib Mondol Rita Bhimani
Roh adds from Sydney: “It was wonderful working again with conductor Sanjib Mondol after 10 years and with his Kolkata Symphony Orchestra, which has grown a lot since then and sounds much better today. They made huge improvements with four rehearsals and everyone was enthusiastic and committed to music making. Kolkata is a very vibrant city with huge energy and people are extremely warm and extremely hospitable. It was a privilege staying at the Bishop’s House and I could concentrate on practicing daily. I will always remember the delicious black milk tea served daily which I savoured as a tea lover.”
Dickoo Nowroji, who is a board member of the Kolkata Symphony Orchestra has this to say: “The soloist Sun Roh played both concertos with delicacy and a cultured tone. This blended beautifully with the splendid acoustics at St John’s Church. We do look forward to such concerts in future. The addition of a woodwind section is a dream we hope to fulfil some day.”
