Jutta Puchhammer-Sédillot

President (Canada/Austria)

I was born in Vienna and studied there until age 25. Afterwards, I did my masters in the United Stated and immigrated to Canada in 1987. I settled in Montreal, got married, had 3 children, and now 6 grandchildren. I have been a full professor of viola and chamber music at the Université de Montreal since 2002, but have taught at universities since 1988. 

I just LOVE the sound of the viola. I also love late Romantic music because of its rich harmonies and because this repertoire fits the viola’s sound colors so well! 

My research focuses on music from the period 1870- 1930. There is so much music to be discovered that nobody ever has heard of: Tournemire, Juon, de Vaucorbeil, all the French Pièces de concours, Stanford, Fuchs, Kornauth, and more—some of which I have recorded. 

My first International Viola Congress was in Austin in 1997. I was immediately hooked on this unique viola experience and have only missed 2 since then .

I was artistic director for the Congress in Guelph in 1999, and organized one myself in Montreal in 2006. I was elected as Vice President of the Canadian Viola Society in 1999, and took over as President in 2006 for 10 years. I became Vice President of the IVS in 2016, and finally agreed to lead IVS as President in January 2020.

In my musical career, I have played a great deal of chamber music in various ensembles, performing internationally with my viola/piano duo Puchhammer-Desjardins. I have taught and performed at festivals in Canada, the United States, South America, England, Austria, France, Belgium, and Switzerland, and was the principal violist of the Laval Symphony Orchestra for 20 years.

My goal for the International Viola Society is to modernize our procedures. We have many more sections now, but we want to expand even further. Our goal is to represent the wishes and diversity of our member sections. It would be great if our congresses can be financially more accessible to younger generations, while still representing a viola world where ideas can be shared and cherished.

I dream of collaborating with all our members during my presidency to create THE viola website every violist might want. The goal is to collect information concerning rare viola music and find viola news from all over the world. I want to create an audio database for the viola that can be expanded over the years as a reference for us all.