About Us

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Based in Calgary, StoryMusic has a passion for chamber music and great stories. We find that the intimacy of a small group of musicians playing together goes hand-in-hand with the intimacy of storytelling. We also believe that music is full of meaning, and stories can provide a window into that magical world. We draw mainly upon the rich traditions of classical chamber music, but may delve into jazz, world music, contemporary music and improvisation for future projects. Stay tuned as we continue to explore where great stories and great music come together!
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Artistic Director, Writer, and Violist: Liza Scriggins
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Liza Scriggins is a graduate of Williams College (BA) and the New England Conservatory of Music (MM), where she studied viola with Marcus Thompson as well as Burton Fine, then Principal Violist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in numerous summer music festivals throughout North America and Japan, including the Pacific Music Festival, Kent/Blossom Music, and the Utah Festival Opera. In 2001-2002, Liza completed a masterclass program and long-term residency at the Banff Centre. She has taught and performed at the Comox Valley Youth Music Centre, and for many summers played in Calgary’s own Mountain View Festival. Liza has had the honour of performing under the baton of such luminaries as Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle and Michael Tilson Thomas, and has also performed chamber music with Geoff Nuttall, Jonathan Crow, and Anton Kuerti.
An active freelance musician, Liza has played with the Calgary Philharmonic, National Ballet, Red Deer Symphony, Kensington Sinfonia, Calgary Instrumental Society, Allegra String Quartet and Land’s End Chamber Ensemble. She is on the Land’s End disc Rollin’ down #1, which won the 2006 WCMA award for Outstanding Classical Recording, and her playing was broadcast on CBC Radio as a member of Sempre la Musica. Before coming to Alberta, she was a member of the Vermont Symphony and performed in ensembles all over New England. More recently, Liza was violist for Theatre Calgary’s award-winning production, The Louder We Get.
Liza teaches both violin and viola to students of all ages and levels. Before joining the faculty at Mount Royal Conservatory in 2009, she held positions at Studio Nine School of Music and Chinook Studio in Calgary. She also taught in the Boston area at Creative Arts for Kids, Arlington Public Schools, Boston Music Education Collaborative, and the Monteverdi Music School in Montpelier, Vermont. Liza attended the 2009 Alberta Suzuki Summer Institute where she completed training for Book 1 Suzuki violin instruction, studying with Michele Higa George. She greatly enjoys sharing with her students in the lifelong journey of discovering the wonderful world of music.
In 2016, Liza ventured into writing as the founder of Storymusic. She has been awarded grants by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Music Performance Trust Fund, and the National Arts Centre’s Music Alive Program, and her group has performed for countless children at immigrant service centres, public libraries and schools.
(Photo credit: Helen Scott Studios)
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Narrator: Samantha Whelan Kotkas
Narrator: Julie Freedman Smith
Flutist:  Lucie Jones
Harpist:  Gianetta Baril
Cellists: Olena KilchykAndrea Case
Violinists: Elisa MilnerDiane LaneGenevieve Micheletti
Artist: Olga Cuttell of Oladesign