Mother-daughter pianists play fundraiser

Mothers and daughters have a unique bond. They’re about as close as two people could get, genetically speaking, aside from twins.

But sometimes that relationship can be volatile, heated and downright messy.

When Toshiko Tampo and her daughter, Yuki Tampo-Hinton, sit down at the piano together, the two seem symbiotic.

Yuki was taught by her mother at the tender age of two and has been guided by Toshiko for more than 16 years now. How they manage to perform together so well is a question both have fielded before.

“It’s interesting,” Yuki said. “Everyone is always so suprised that we’ve made it this far. Everyone said they’ve tried with their mother and they lasted six months or something. She’s really patient.”

The blending of these two piano virtuosos’ styles will be on display next Tuesday (July 29) at First Baptist Church in Victoria during A Celebration of Canadian Music, a concert featuring classic Canadian compositions. Among their selections are works by Victoria’s Sylvia Rickard and former city residents Jean Ethridge and Murray Adaskin.

Tampo and Tampo-Hinton will be joined by violinist Jennifer Whittle, cellist Joyce Ellwood and flutist Lanny Pollet.

The performance is a fundraiser for mother and daughter’s trip to Japan in late August and September. There they’ll play the music of Canadian composers for audiences in Tokyo and in Toshiko’s hometown of Sapporo.

“To hear Canadian composers in Japan, it never happens,” she said. “It’s unheard of.”

Tampo, born in Japan, came to the Banff School of Fine Arts on a full scholarship in 1984. Her daughter Yuki had the distinct priveledge of learning directly from a pianist who’d performed with the likes of The National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.

Yuki has etched out her own niche as well. She recently finished her first year at the University of Victoria’s school of music, under the direction of pianist Arthur Rowe. She also recently received a full scholarship to attend the Toronto Summer Music Academy and Festival this year. Toshiko has also studied abroad, such as at the Kodaly Institute and The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Hungary.

“I think we have a lot of similarities but we also have a lot of differences which makes it really interesting,” said Toshiko. “The interesting thing is we play really well together and we have a lot of discussions after.”

So when they head home and become mother and daughter, do things change from collaborators to kin?

“We talk about music,” said Yuki, “so it just mixes in with everything.”

Toshiko and Yuki Tampo will be hosting a fundraising concert on Tuesday, July 29 at at the First Baptist Church, 877 North Park St. at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation and CDs will be available for purchase, for more information call 250-477-2415.

patrickb@vicnews.com