Two generations, one stage

Picture this: a mother and daughter together on stage. Anna lifts her violin while her mother, Daiga, settles at the piano. As the first notes rise through the Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Rockies, a moment years in the making begins.​

Award-winning violinist Anna Štube and her mother, pianist Daiga Štube, will reunite on stage for the first time in years, bringing together their shared love of music to support Elizabeth House, a Calgary organization that provides shelter and resources to mothers and children in need.

Before they step on stage on Aug 28th, Anna and Daiga sat down to reflect on a lifetime of shared music. Their connection was obvious from the start, marked by easy banter and affectionate teasing. It was a glimpse into a time before international stages and competition awards, a glimpse into Anna as a daughter learning her first notes alongside her mother.

Anna’s journey as a violinist began when she was just five years old. She remembers hearing her cousin practise and then begging her parents for a violin. What followed for both mother and daughter was years of making music together at senior homes, weddings, and Crossroads Market. The work was demanding. Anna recalls, fondly, practising for hours, sometimes until three in the morning. For Daiga, supporting those long hours wasn't a burden, but a mother's calling. "It was not work; it was just a lifestyle," Daiga says. "I thought that was my responsibility as a mother, to support her in whatever she wanted to do."

While Daiga is proud of her daughter's technical growth through the years, she is even more moved by Anna’s personal resilience, especially her ability to build a life and support network while living independently in Toronto.

"I’m really proud of how she’s grown musically and personally," Daiga says. "With a lot of struggles she went through, she didn't isolate herself. She went and talked to other people to try to get help, finding her own friendships and her own community."

That personal maturity has also shaped the way Anna approaches music. Daiga notes that while anyone can play to a metronome, true artistry requires knowing when to slow down and let the music breathe.

"To make music, to be a musician, means you have to take your time," Daiga explains. "You have to slow down sometimes, enjoy that slowing down, and not get stressed out."

Anna agrees, adding that age has brought both perspective and a lighter heart. "Music is life," Anna says. "I can’t live without it. It has come out as the best way that I can make a difference in my lifetime, the best way I can express myself, to connect with people and to share that gift with others.”

Then she adds, “But you realize what life is about, and that you can't take it so seriously. I think I'm sillier now than I was before! You have to laugh, spend time with people you love, and lift each other up."

That sense of purpose is at the heart of why Anna chose to bring her music to the stage in support of Elizabeth House. When asked what it means to use her gift to support women and children in need, she says, “That’s the best thing when you can use your passion to make some good in the world. That’s what underlies everything that I want to do in life, to make that difference, to make a change in people’s lives.”

That desire to make a difference is rooted in Anna’s own experience of being supported by a community during challenging seasons. She spoke about losing her father and the people who surrounded her family during that time, helping to carry some of the weight.

​“There are many things in my life that have been really hard to navigate,” she says, “and I likely would have been in a very different place than I am now had it not been for a supportive community around me and I want to be able to give that back.”

Now, returning to the stage together, Anna and Daiga are offering their shared gift in support of mothers and children who need a community of their own. Their concert is more than a reunion. It is a continuation of something that began when a five-year-old girl picked up a violin and her mother stood beside her.

A mother, a daughter, a violin and a piano, and music offered in service of others.

Picture this: a mother and daughter together on stage, music filling the Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Rockies. Better yet, experience this moment firsthand at a free concert on Aug. 28, featuring Anna and Daiga Štube at the Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Rockies.