How did a Victoria physician and musician come to be booked at Carnegie Hall this weekend? Practice, practice, practice, of course 鈥� but also a little luck.
Mark Lupin, a violinist and dermatologist, got the offer after performing a concert last year in San Francisco. It was all strangely matter-of-fact, said the 57-year-old founder of Cosmedica Laser Centre on Fort Street.
鈥淎n audience member came up to me after the concert and said: 鈥榊ou must play in New York,鈥� 鈥� Lupin said this week before leaving for New York. 鈥淗e contacted Carnegie Hall, and later on I got a call inviting me to play.鈥�
Lupin won鈥檛 be playing the 2,804-seat Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, the famous Carnegie room where the Beatles, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and storied classical composers Tchaikovsky, Toscanini and Strauss all performed. Instead, he will take the stage Sunday afternoon at the 268-seat Weill Recital Hall, one of three auditoriums in the historic Manhattan building.
The hall is a showcase room designed to host debut performances. Lupin, who was born in Oxford, is hardly a novice: At 15, he was one of the youngest concertmasters of sa国际传媒鈥檚 National Youth Orchestra, and at 20, he was co-leader of the BBC symphony orchestra. He performed with the Edmonton Symphony at age 10 and with Britain鈥檚 National Philharmonic Orchestra as a teenager.
Nonetheless, Lupin remains in awe of the Carnegie Hall opportunity. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 really on my radar at all. It鈥檚 one of these bucket-list things that we don鈥檛 imagine. It is such a privilege.鈥�
There鈥檚 a special undercurrent to his Sunday performance with pianist Ayke Agus, billed as a tribute to legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz. Agus was a longtime collaborator with Heifetz, even writing a book about her experience. Lupin 鈥� a Heifetz prot茅g茅 who studied with the Russian teacher prior to his death in 1987 鈥� noted that his mentor had his Carnegie Hall debut in October 1917, exactly 100 years ago to the month.
Heifetz is also credited with that famous quip: 鈥淗ow do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.鈥�
Lupin has performed and recorded with Agus in the past, including a year ago at the Alix Goolden Performance Hall in Victoria. That they have previous experience has helped ease his nerves, as rehearsals have been all but non-existent leading up to this weekend鈥檚 performance. The program is not an easy one, even for experienced players: Among the chaconnes and sonatas being performed are works by Giuseppe Tartini, Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Charles-Camille Saint-Sa毛ns, C茅sar Franck and Christian Sinding.
Lupin has been practising by himself every day in preparation, but has only been to California once to run through things with the Los Angeles-based Agus. 鈥淚t is a challenge,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur next rehearsal will be a dress rehearsal [on Sunday]. It鈥檚 very minimal.鈥�
It鈥檚 not as though he鈥檚 an inexperienced performer, however. He has performed in Europe and England with the World Doctors Orchestra, which often plays in hallowed concert halls around the world. Lupin has been with the non-profit orchestra for 10 years, and will join a tour next year that will take him to Berlin and Hamburg.
The orchestra consists solely of high-level musicians who are also physicians. Lupin certainly fits the bill. 鈥淢y days are full with medicine, and the evenings and weekends with family and music,鈥� said Lupin, who will be joined at the Carnegie Hall concert by his wife and three children.
Lupin and Agus have also donated tickets for their recital to students in the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. 鈥淭he tradition of the hall and the history of that place makes it extra special for everyone,鈥� Lupin said.
Having 鈥渞ead, heard, and imagined鈥� everything pertaining to Carnegie Hall, long before it was ever conceivable that he could perform on the stage, Lupin said he鈥檚 ready for his close-up. He was taught by Heifetz to seize opportunities that come up.
鈥淲ith work, it鈥檚 easy to get very uni-focused. But they say if you imagine things, they may come true. In this case, I didn鈥檛 imagine it, but it happened to come true.鈥�