The annual Spark to Flame concert presented by the Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) is a showcase where students perform solos accompanied by a symphony. This year’s took place on Saturday, February 24; the age range was large, with the youngest student being 10 years old and others attending Camosun College.
My favourite performance at Spark to Flame was from Anishinaabe flutist Tyler Evans-Knott, who’s pursuing a Diploma in Flute Performance through Camosun, and is participating in the VCM Young Artists Collegium program. Evans-Knott’s skill and stage presence captivated my attention from the moment he started playing; having played flute myself for several years, it’s one of my favourite instruments to listen to.
After the performance I was able to speak with Evans-Knott to learn more about him than what the concert program offered. I was curious where his musical journey began.
“I’ve always been a pretty musical kid,” says Evans-Knott. “I remember I was obsessed with the musical Grease. I’ve always been super musical, but it started when I was around eight, I think. I took violin lesson for a couple of months and really enjoyed it. And then in school over the next couple of years we had recorder, which I also really enjoyed. That was just super fun, the whole music thing. And then on my 10th birthday, I actually got a flute and so that kind of kickstarted the whole classical journey, I guess. I was self-taught for the first two years, pretty much. I started taking lessons from a few different teachers before I found one who really stuck and we worked well together and I’ve been going on ever since.”
Evans-Knott had a lot of support at home. He credits his first band teacher as being a musical influence. She recognized his talent and pushed Evans-Knott to try out for the youth orchestra, which led to him playing with her in the local symphony.
“I started in the Kawartha Youth Orchestra, the KYO, when I was 15 but when I got to play with the Peterborough Symphony, the big local orchestra out there, I was 17,” he says. “The KYO had the same conductor as the Peterborough Symphony so they kind of built this mentorship program where you could audition into, and if you were selected you got to play with the orchestra for that season. So, I did that for two seasons and was asked back as a regular after that.”
At Spark to Flame, Evans-Knott performed Trail of Tears: II. Incantation, a sombre and moving piece by Michael Daughtery. It stood out from the other classical pieces by composers such as Beethoven and Mozart.
“It’s important to program music that that has a purpose or represents something that means a lot to you,” says Evans-Knott. “So, this movement of the piece kind of reflects upon those who’ve passed on and… is like a hope for a better life and the beyond. And I think that really became clarified for me last year when my grandfather passed away. I had already played the first movement before, but I think it just connected me to the music so much more having this deeper, better, context to it.”
Evans-Knott was also a member of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and did side performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, as well as movement with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and most recently with the Victoria Symphony.
Post-graduation, Evans-Knott wants to pursue a four-year bachelor program at the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto.