Willis siblings reunite for South Bend Symphony concert — their first as co-headliners

Siblings Sarah and Alastair Willis have both achieved a great deal of success in the world of classical music, and their cultured family environment helped set them on the right track.

Their father, David K. Willis, was a foreign correspondent, working for the Christian Science Monitor and PBS' "Washington Week in Review," among others. His work required the family to lead a peripatetic lifestyle, living in places as diverse as Massachusetts, Russia and England.

The children were playing piano from early on, and by the time they were teenagers, they'd settled on brass instruments. From her first lesson on the French horn, Sarah knew that it was going to be her instrument of choice. Alastair excelled at his trumpet lessons, and, as local readers know, eventually he gravitated towards conducting.

He has led several orchestras in addition to his role as music director of the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. As a recording artist, he racked up a Grammy nomination in 2009 for his album on the Naxos label, leading the Nashville Symphony in a performance of Maurice Ravel's "L'Enfant et les Sortilèges." In the meantime, Sarah was becoming one of the leading French horn players in the world, securing a longstanding position with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Although they have shared stages a handful of times in the past, the two have never co-starred as headliners. That changes Sept. 24 and 25 at the University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, when Sarah serves as the featured soloist for the SBSO's "Mozart y Mambo" program.

The concert borrows its name from two Sarah Willis "Mozart y Mambo" albums, both of which have been critical and commercial hits. She made the recordings in Cuba, and they feature a mix of Cuban dance pieces and European classical works. Composer Yuniet Lombida advised Sarah that if she wanted to play Cuban music properly, she should also know how to dance it. Sarah discussed this matter in an email exchange with The Tribune.

"Most classical musicians are terrible dancers, but in Cuba, dancing is a way of life," she says. "It's not just something that they do for a hobby. They dance when they play music. They dance when they talk to each other. They dance while they're waiting in a line. It's just part of their DNA, so Cuban music is for dancing. Yuniet was right that you can't play it if you don't feel it in your body. I'm not saying that I'm a good dancer, but it definitely helps."

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It's helpful as well that the Willis children have long been immersed in the world of dance. Their mother, Margaret Willis, was a dance critic, and she literally wrote the book on the Cuban-British dancer and ballet director Carlos Acosta. Her study, "The Reluctant Dancer," traces Acosta's rise from a shantytown to eventual international fame. Alastair benefitted from this influence, and dance ability helped make him a quadruple threat early in his career when he was performing on London's West End.

"When we do a pops concert with Gershwin or any kind of swing, it's a chance for our musicians to loosen up a little bit and not have to be so pristinely perfect with everything," he says. "We can relax and get more into the feel of the music. When you hear Cuban orchestras play Mozart, they bring a lilt to it. It's different from how the Berlin Philharmonic would play it."

At the DeBartolo Center concerts, Sarah will take the solo part for Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 3 in E-flat major, K.447. It's a composition that holds a special place in her heart.

"It was the first piece I ever played as a soloist with an orchestra, the Walton and Weybridge Youth Orchestra," she says. "The violas got lost and the clarinet split more notes than I did."

The concerts also will feature works by Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud and Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Sarah will be featured on bonus Cuban pieces as well.

The siblings are consummate professionals, but they will tease each other behind the scenes whenever they get a chance.

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"I arrived on the day before her third birthday," Alastair says. "I get a birthday card every year saying, 'Thanks for spoiling my third birthday.'"

"I can't wait to get to South Bend and give my little brother a hard time during the rehearsals, telling him I need all sorts of tempo changes and being a bit of a pain as a big sister," Sarah says. "I will also feel very proud. My mum and our sister will be there, too. We hope to get everyone up and dancing in the aisles."

In concert

● Who: The South Bend Symphony Orchestra's "Mozart y Mambo" featuring Sarah Willis, French horn

● Where: The University of Notre Dame's DeBartolo Performing Arts Center

● When: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 25

● Cost: $45-$12

● For more information: Call 574-631-2800 or visit performingarts.nd.edu.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Sarah Willis joins brother Alastair for South Bend Symphony concert