Though in different ensembles, violinists Samantha Li and Lee
Park often played together, with Park taking first violin and Li
second. “She cared very much about her tone, the quality of her sound,”
recalls Park of her colleague and friend, who was killed in a car
accident last month. The two were also friends, doing “girl stuff”
together. The loss of Li, a member of the Bluenose Quartet, has caused
deep sorrow among this city’s musicians. “The classical music community
is very small here, especially the string community,” Park says. The
Halifax String Quartet (Park, with Jennifer Lau on violin, Jennifer
Bentley on viola and Sarah Ramer on cello) is playing a concert
dedicated to Li and the Samantha Li Memorial Fund created at Dalhousie
University, where both Li and Park studied. The program includes
Debussy, Piazzolla and local composers Ryan Veltmeyer and Alice Hansen.
Nova Scotia Mass Choir vocalist Velma Skeir joins on jazz numbers
arranged by the quartet’s Bentley.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2009.
Thanks Lee and Alice, for being her true friend. Life becomes more meaningful and comforting when I can count on Samantha’s beloved friends.