For your listening pleasure…… August 30, 2010

Sorry it’s taken so long, but I finally got the student recital recordings up online.  You can download them for free.  Because of the recording limitations, the tracks may not line up exactly with the different quartets and pieces, but it’s all there and in the order performed.  You may just have to listen through a bit to find a specific piece.

For those performed in the morning session: http://www.4shared.com/dir/7K_XL98y/2010_Britt_String_Quartet_Acad.html

Afternoon session:
http://www.4shared.com/dir/XhKaUQaR/2010_Britt_String_Quartet_Acad.html

I still have photos to get up on the blog, and I’ll try to get that done by the end of the week.

We miss you all and look forward to next year!

A Musical Conversation August 12, 2010

Hi: Kathy here!

Last night, the Sparrow Hills Quartet played at the Britt Institute Donor Reception on the concert grounds.For those who don’t know, the Britt Institute raises money for student scholarships and Britt’s educational programs.

SQA students benefit directly from the Institute’s efforts. As the Sparrow Hill Quartet played last night, faculty members Joanne Mendoza, David Gilham, John McGrosso and Kurt Baldwin offered the following insights on how string quartets learn to work together organically to interpret the music.

Because there's no leader in a quartet, the members learn to work together as a democracy, with the give and take of the music's rhythm.

The Sparrow Hills Quartet played a Haydn Quartet in G Major. Haydn was the “papa” of string quartets; he created the musical form and had great fun exploring all the possible playing combinations. Mathematically, it adds up to 6 duos and 4 trios possible within a single quartet. That’s a lot of talking going on!  Which is why, just as with spoken language, inflection and expression are so important to meaning. It’s not just about mastering the notes.

The Arianna String Quartet encourages SQA students to sing the music they’re learning to play. If they think in terms of melody and inflection, it becomes easier to express meaning through the instrumental music. It’s a technique Kurt learned in a master class with Issac Stern, who commanded “Sing the music!”

Just playing the notes accurately is only the first step.

A quartet actually takes the stage as a quintet. Playing as if the composer is present, taking part in the conversation, adds to the music.

The conversational flow and destination are all important. Each musician plays with a mutual path and an arrival in mind.

All types of listeners enjoy string quartet performances!

For openers… August 10, 2010

Hi, Kathy here:

Last Friday night, seven groups of String Quartet Academy students performed on the Britt Hill. They were the “warm up” for the Britt Festival Orchestra’s 2010 opening concert with violinist Chee-Yun . The SQA green-shirted students gave admirable performances. They sounded as if they’d played together for weeks, not just one week! Afterwards, everyone took their seats for the concert and only the crickets on the hill dared make noise while the Britt Orchestra played. Enjoy these photos from the evening. Photos by me. Susan will post her photos of the other two quartets later.

Prussian Quartet

Romance Trio, above.

Sparrow Hills Quartet

Viennese Quartet

Spring Quartet

Monday, Monday August 9, 2010

We had an eventful weekend… well, Sunday anyway.  That was yesterday.  We all had the immense pleasure of seeing the Arianna performance with Alexander Tutunov.  The Bartok was jaw-droppingly good.  Wow.

Then the students went to Oregon Shakespeare Festival and watched a performance on the outdoor green show stage where they’ll be performing tomorrow.  We only have about a half hour of performance time so three quartets will perform and then the full orchestra.  (I’ll try to get some photos up the next day.)

After yesterday’s green show performance, we all went to see She Loves Me there at OSF.  It was really funny and very well done.

Today, back to the mines.  Work, work, work……………  !

Master Class August 6, 2010

Hi! Kathy here.

We just wanted to share the energy of the master class with Kim Chee-Yun. Two lucky Quartet Academy violinists, Erica Westenberg and Diane Jung, stood up and played, receiving helpful comments from Chee-Yun.

Chee-Yun herself matured into an accomplished young violinist while studying with Dorothy DeLay and attending the Juilliard School in New York. One of her classmates was Midori.  As a teenager, Chee-Yun wanted to dive into normal activities like shopping and dating but her traditional parents steered her towards school and concentration on the violin. She hated to practice. DeLay set the gauntlet high for Chee-Yung’s technique while earning her respect as a listener sympathetic to teenage troubles. A few years ago, she told the Dallas Herald that DeLay’s expectations and her own need to prove her worthiness “drove her.”

And now, Chee-Yun gracefully passes along the lessons she learned to the next generation of violinists.

We’ll upload the class videos next week. Enjoy the photos for now. All photos courtesy of Vicki Rosette. Thanks, Vicki!

Friday already??? August 6, 2010

Orchestra practice!

Whew… time is flyin’ around here.   Yesterday we had a really interesting masterclass with Chee-Yun.  Kathy, back at the office, has some photos.  We’ll get those up as soon as we can.  Tonight the students will play around the Britt hill for a special invited event to celebrate the opening of Britt’s classical season.  Afterward they’ll stay to enjoy the concert.  Chee-Yun is the guest soloist tonight, so that will be great for them to see her perform after getting to meet her yesterday at the masterclass.

Below are some pictures snapped here and there:

 

LUNCH………

Learning process August 5, 2010

Hi, Kathy here: We wanted to show you a typical day at String Quartet Academy. All photos are by Susan Marsden, Education Coordinator at Britt.

Becoming a performer...

Joanna Mendoza teaching viola master class.

David Gilham talks about "sneaking up on the music."

Rehearsing for Friday's Opening Night.

Kurt Baldwin coaching a young cellist.

John McGrosso with his violin master class.

What would Bow-thoven do?

"O.K. So now what?"

Cole Guillien wears many hats: cellist, counselor, coach and intern.

Rachel Murphy, counselor

Sean McKee, head counselor, is also band director and vocal coach at Illinois Valley High School.

It ain’t easy…. August 5, 2010

Hi!  Susan here.  

I have to thank Kathy Pyle at the Britt office for breathing life back into the blog after its long hibernation.  I am so busy, it’s been hard to get here… but now that Kathy’s gotten it started for me, I expect I’ll have an easier time chiming in now and then.

The students are working really hard.  It makes for a long day of playing and a lot of mental focus and physical stamina is involved.  This is a wonderful, wonderful group of students, though.  They really soldier through all this and are still smiling.  Impressive!  The music is growing, tightening, sharpening.  By the end of next week they’ll be really happy with what they’ve accomplished!

Strike up the Strings! – 2010 Academy in session August 4, 2010

This year’s Academy students are all settled in and once again the halls of St. Mary’s School are filled with music. Camp started first thing Saturday morning, and then after a fun Sunday afternoon outing to Ashland, Academy resumed Monday morning. Six quartets named have formed and rehearse together daily. Academy assistant Mark Knippel traditionally names each quartet based on the music they play. He gives the quartet members the challenge of figuring out why they have a particular name. Can you guess? This year’s quartets are:

Spring Quartet: Anne Kim, Anna Epstein, Brittany Scott-Unger, Kira Weiss

Das Mädchen Quartet: Lane Carter, Aaron Boscanin, Emma Kinsley, Emily Ebrecht

Viennese Quartet: Diane Jung, Miya Saito-Beckman, Natalie Izzo, Cole Guillien

Esterhazy Quartet: Julia Hodecker, Erica Westenberg, Anne Bewig, Grayson Carter

Prussian Quartet: Seanei Gibbons, William Anneb, Lauren Taylor, Sean Hamre

Sparrow Hills Quartet: Sabrina Salamone, Azure Ginsberg, Susan Bengtson, Megan Trager

Romance Trio: Shaylynn Sienkiewicz, Lauren Culver, Luke Wilder

This year’s class comes from: Missouri (7) , Oregon (6), Washington (3), (Canada (5), California (1)  and Illinois (1). Most of the Canadians are from Guelph, an Ontario city known for its university and excellent microbrews.

All students are busy rehearsing for Friday night’s Opening Night performance at Britt. Dianne Jung and Erica Westenberg are also preparing for a master class with Friday night’s soloist, violinist Chee-Yun, tomorrow afternoon.

We’ll post class photos soon!