Heart to Heart

Through all kinds of music, Alexa and Justin Haynes-Pilon are side by side onstage and off

 ***

If music be the food of love, Alexa and Justin Haynes-Pilon play on.

The couple will be featured in Musica Angelica’s concerts in the First Congregational Church of Long Beach on Jan. 31 (repeated in the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles on Feb. 1), and the title of the concert seems to refer directly to them: "Valentine to the Viola da Gamba"

They’ll be playing the viola da gamba, a cello-esque instrument popular in the Baroque period, side by side, which seldom happens unless in a performance of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. But Alexa discovered a Telemann composition that showcases flute, harpsichord and two bass viols.

In a phone interview with the couple, she recalled first sharing the piece with close friend Stephen Schultz, who will play the flute in the performance.  “He's like, ‘This is the coolest piece I've ever heard.’ Justin and I do a lot of duo stuff, and it’s been really fun exploring new repertoire and including others.”

There were strings attached from the start of their relationship, which didn't happen while they mixed with the same group of friends the first two years they were studying music at the University of Toronto. They finally came face to face when they were both hired to perform Monteverdi’s “Vespers for the Blessed Virgin,” a piece that requires both a cellist and a gambist. They celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary last September.

While thoughtful husbands may cook, clean and wash dishes, Justin carries his devotion to extremes. He makes instruments for Alexa to play. At the “Valentine” concert, Alexa will be performing on a viol Justin created by hand.

“The cool thing is that the gamba that I usually play on — that most of the patrons have seen — will be the one that Justin is playing on,” Alexa said. “And that one was his audition piece for luthier school, so it's kind of a nice little circle. Now we have two bass gambas, all hand-carved, by Justin, with scrolls and a lot of intricate work.”

The bass gamba that Alexa will be playing has yet to be finished because Justin is still working on its ornate tail piece, but don’t fret. It will be done in time for the shows. Nowadays, it takes him about three months, uninterrupted, to finish making an instrument.

“One of the things that's special about the type of music that we specialize in is playing it on instruments that are as close as possible to the way they existed in the Baroque era,” Justin said. “And so they're built differently than they are today.”

Last year, Martin Haselböck, the conductor and music director of Musica Angelica and a lover of gambas, found out that Justin had just finished making some viols. He pulled Alexa aside.

“He said it'd be really cool if Justin and I could have a program together, maybe gambas. He kind of left it open, and that was the reason to find this repertoire and plan it around some of my favorite people that I get to play with.” In addition to Schultz, these include harpsichordist Caitlyn Koester and violinist/concertmaster Ilia Korol.

Married couples usually learn more about each other the longer they’re together, but Alexa and Justin started even before the wedding.

“One of our fun traditions when we were dating in Toronto was that every Sunday morning we would have a sight-reading session with coffee,” Alexa said. “We built this really cool bond together. It's different from playing with good friends. It's more special."

“And it was Irish coffee,” Justin added. “So that made it even more special.”

Marriage isn’t always easy. Sometimes you have to come to the rescue of the one you love. One time, when the couple was playing together in an opera orchestra, the overture had just ended when one of Justin’s strings broke. Alexa realized immediately what had happened and jumped into action. She quickly helped him get a new string on while at the same time playing her instrument louder so that no one would notice the hiccup.

“It helps to have the sort of spousal mind meld where you just know what's going on,” Justin said.

“It's always kind of fun when you're playing music with a spouse, especially if you're practicing together,” Alexa added, “because you're a little bit more open about like, ‘Oh, I keep getting this wrong.’ We kind of help each other out if we're struggling. If one of us screws something up, we kind of have a little eye thing.”

From Justin, Alexa has learned a lot about the structural elements of the instruments she plays, which can come in clutch.

“I played a concert yesterday and the room was extremely dry because the heat was just blasting,” she said. “The cello was totally fine until we got to the third piece and one of my strings stopped moving properly. Fifteen years ago, I would've probably been in tears. But I knew if I altered the bridge a little bit, it might open up the string.

“So through watching Justin build and seeing how he manipulates an instrument, I've learned a little bit —I call it kind of a chiropractor treatment — about things like moving the bridge or altering the pegs. I can make quick little adjustments to make the instrument work.”

This feature was produced by Journalism Arts Initiative, which is underwritten by donations from arts organizations and others interested in supporting excellence in arts journalism.

****

“Valentine to the Viola da Gamba,” concert by Musica Angelica, Jan. 31, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Long Beach, 241 Cedar Ave. Long Beach. Concertgoers are invited to a reception with hors d’oeuvres and beverages beginning at 6 p.m. The concert is repeated Feb. 1 at 3 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles Shatto Chapel, 540 S. Commonwealth Avenue, Los Angeles. Following the concert, there will be a hosted reception in the Mayflower Courtyard with hors d'oeuvres and beverages. Tickets, $43.14 to $85.16, and are available at https://www.musicaangelica.org/. Call 562-276-0865 for information.