Photo by Thomas Brunot
We are thrilled to announce our new violist, George Meyer! Many of our fans know that George has already been playing with Toomai for the last few years, but today, it’s official! George is a fantastic violist, violinist, and composer. For us, his Toomai membership was solidified when he joined us for a series of concerts in Montana—our first post-pandemic tour in 2022. (This ended in some great shows—and a group text thread with jokes that haven’t stopped since!) George’s versatile and thoughtful musicianship, wonderful sense of groove, and boundless curiosity make him a wonderful fit for Toomai.
We are so thankful to our original violist, Erin Wight, who co-founded Toomai in 2007. After 15 years with Toomai, where she shared her viola wizardry and innovative educational programming with thousands of people, she moved to Seattle! Erin continues to perform throughout the U.S., developing educational programs for the country’s top musical institutions, and raising her beautiful family. While Erin lives across the country, our friendships with her carry on. This is not a goodbye, but more-so an exciting expansion of the Toomai family!
George’s position with the group is particularly exciting as we look to a pivotal season ahead—with an album release coming soon, several premieres of new works, and impactful educational residencies. Read George’s own words below!
A Note from George:
“Toomai has introduced me to wonderful music that I might otherwise have missed. Growing up with exposure to a variety of adventurous acoustic musicians, I had some awareness of Brazilian choro music from a young age, but my first few concerts with Toomai led me to listen to much more of the (seemingly endless, and endlessly varied) great music from all over not only Brazil but Cuba as well. It has also been a splendidly educational process to transfer that music to our instruments. Happily, it’s an education that continues every time we play. Last and certainly not least, it is simply a pleasure to be with the musicians in Toomai, who are great players and just about the friendliest group you could ask for.”
Learn more about George by visiting his bio here!
George leading a young audiences through a listening activity! Photo by @mdkinteriors