Post Concert Report

Short note today:
The concert went really well last night. I felt like my orchestra nailed all of the important point that we had worked on throughout our rehearsals. The visual contact with me was fantastic and the physicality of the ensemble was terrific. The piece with the percussion section and electric violin was an exciting finisher!

Congratulations to all of the musicians! This was a job well-done.

Today we begin work on a new program that will include works by Hindemith, Tchaikovsky, Reed, Haydn, Sharp, and Hofeldt.

Can't wait to get started!

Peace.
Scott

Concert Day!

It is Wednesday, July 27, 2011 and I have my first concert performance today at Interlochen Summer Music Camp with the Intermediate Concert Orchestra. It has been a great 9 days of teaching and rehearsing and I can truly say that my ensemble is ready for their performance. We finally had a rehearsal in the hall yesterday and it really changed the way that the musicians and I heard the ensemble.

 

If I am honest, the rehearsal in the hall didn't start out the way I had hoped. I thought that we would run the program, hit some spots, and run the program again. As it turned out, I think the ensemble was a bit overwhelmed by the room, the anxiety of the first performance, and 5 or 6 of their instructors out in the hall, watching the rehearsal, taking notes for me. All of those factors, put together with the general fatigue that they are starting to feel led to a sup-par start. The kids were missing entrances, phasing tempo, missing bowings, and generally freaking out. I have to admit, I was surprised and a bit upset. As a result, I scrapped the "run-through" and just rehearsed. This proved to be much more productive and we were able to "right the ship" and salvage the rehearsal.

 

For my string educator friends that read this, I want you to know what we are playing and the things that we are focusing on. This is a middle-school group with musicians whose experience and ability ranges from quite high (my concertmaster is working on the Lalo Concerto and many of the students are quite accomplished soloists) to students with very little experience in a serious ensemble with attention to watching, tempo changes, uniform bowing style, etc. I tried to program varied repertoire with lots of opportunities for expression and musicianship. We will start with the Latham Suite for String Orchestra, by Theron Kirk. In the March movement, we focus on "breathing" into beginning of phrases, short sixteenth notes on the hooked bowing, dynamic sustained notes, and energy in general. The Elegy 2^nd movement is an opportunity to really emphasize the importance of watching the conductor and huge changes in style within a movement (ranging from very sustained and sad to "incalzando" or "with fire.") I really stretch and tug the tempo in this one. It takes a huge amount of maturity and patience from each player. The final movement, Finale, is a syncopated dance that requires attention to rhythm and articulation from start to finish. Our second piece is Vivaldi's Concerto in G Major, arranged by my friend, Tom LaJoie. The kids will perform this work without a conductor and the focus has been on terraced dynamics, intonation, and moving with the music, leading from any and every chair. Next, we will do Percy Fletcher's Folk Tune and Fiddle Dance. This old string orchestra standard is one of my favorites. The Folk Tune is an opportunity to teach tempo, key, and meter changes within a movement. We have worked on phrasing, dynamics, watching, and many other ensemble techniques in this one. The Fiddle Dance is reminiscent of Copland's Hoe Down and is simply a blast to perform. Dynamics and drive are paramount in this movement. We will finish with Nanigo, by my friend Tom Sharp. It is cool tune based on West African rhythms. We will be adding a 7-piece authentic African drum section for this one. I will also be joining the group on my 5-string NS Design CR violin, soloing over the last section of the piece. This work starts out "piano" and builds throughout, ending with a huge fortissimo. This is great for teaching a tricky 2 against 3 rhythmic pattern in the context of a really fun work.

 

We have a short rehearsal this afternoon and a warm-up on stage right before the performance. I am rally psyched for the entire day. I know that it will be great fun. I am so proud of this ensemble. I often say that an ensemble has to do the rigor first. But, when that is accomplished, they then can release any stress and simply play from the heart. This group has done the rigor. I hope that they can play today with joy and expression without losing their attention to detail. I believe that is the key for this group of young musicians today. I know that I will enjoy the ride today, with the knowledge that we have prepared well.

 

I'll let you know tomorrow how it went!

 

Peace.

Scott

It’s a Small World After All

It is Tuesday morning at Interlochen and I am really itching to get started with my orchestra. Our first rehearsal is this afternoon at 2:00 and I just can't wait to meet the kids and hear what I will be dealing with for the next three weeks! That being said, I have a few thoughts about my experiences on Sunday and Monday as I have now gone through my orientation here and have begun to settle in to the camp.

 

I have always believed that the music education and string education communities are really not all that big and that much of what we do as string educators is relational at every level. That concept has been confirmed over and over in the past two days for me. It seems that everyone that I meet either shares mutual friends with me or mutual teaching situations. From the moment that I arrived here, I have met people that I could have been friends and colleagues with for years. We all really do inhabit the same community.

 

On our first morning here, my wife and I were enjoying a cup of coffee on our front porch and met a lovely woman, Emily, who was living beside us for only one night. As we struck up a conversation, we found out that she had a background in Suzuki, had been involved in Interlochen for over 50 years, and lived in State College, PA. As we discussed our mutual experiences in PA, Suzuki Circles, and even trips to Scotland, we found that we had an incredible amount of common ground and struck up a quick friendship.

 

At a faculty reception later that day, the Intermediate Band Conductor came up to me and said, "Hi Scott!" After a minute of confusion due to "different place, different time syndrome ," I realized that he is Len Lavelle, Band director at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, whose wife is Sarah Lavelle, from North Allegheny High School in Pittsburgh. She is a trusted colleague and runs one of the really fine and largest orchestra programs in the Pittsburgh Area. North Allegheny happens to be my wife's alma mater as well. Len and I had a wonderful conversation and began to develop a new friendship on an entirely different level than before. We are clearly interested in the same things as music educators.

 

The list could go on and on. I have met many folks that know Chuck Eilber, a former Director of Interlochen Academy and the founding Director of NCSSM. I have met many folks that have worked with my friend and colleague from UNCG in String Education, Dr. Rebecca MacLeod. I have run into new colleagues that work with and know too many of my string education colleagues to begin to mention them all here.

 

I realize how fortunate I am to live and work in the field of music education and specifically string education. The relationships are so rich and the community is so loving and inclusive. I am also so aware of the responsibility of representing my fine string colleagues while I am here. In many ways, I, for these students, am the face of orchestral string music. I promise to represent you all with love, musicianship, and care. After all, this is a small community. We all seem to know each other in some interesting and important way. And, many of these students will be running into each other (and us!) for the rest of their lives. I want their memories of this experience to be rich – in the relationships, the music-making, the learning, and scholarship.

 

For now, we will endure another day of high-90's heat and work diligently to further the cause of classical orchestral music and the arts in general. Opportunities are everywhere!

 

Peace.

 

Scott

Community Building at Summer String Camp

Today, I want to say a few words about community building. Anybody that knows me, knows that I love to use the words orchestra and community interchangeably. An orchestra is a community. The string world IS a community. And, the strength of the community around an orchestra, string faculty, or music department can be a direct predictor of its overall success. Community matters.

Over the past several years, I have been proud to be associated with two wonderful summer string camps. For the past two years, I have been on faculty of the Lamar String Camp in Raleigh, NC and on several occasions over the past several years have been the Musical Director of the Alaska String Camp. There are many fantastic aspects to both of these camps, like many summer string experiences around the country, but the sense of community building at both of these camps is simply extraordinary.

For the past two weeks, I have really enjoyed witnessing the work of the late high school and college aged "counselors" at the Lamar Stringfield Camp. This group of young adults are really instrumental to the success of the camp and work tirelessly as the real liaison between the instructors and the students. This group includes several students that are music majors in universities including East Carolina, Michigan, UNC, UNC Charlotte, and others. There are other students that are rising high school juniors and seniors. Most of the counselors have attended the camp as students and are now taking on leadership roles at this event that helped shape them as musicians and people.

They are on hand to set up rehearsal rooms, stuff folders, tutor students, sit in on rehearsals to "beef up" a section, play with the kids, monitor the cafeteria, and a variety of other jobs. They are there to help the kids out if they need a little extra love and support. They are there for the kids if the don't feel well or scrape their knee. They also get to make music together and participate in the leadership of the camp. Yesterday, I heard 8 of them play the Mendelssohn Octet. It was a wonderful performance and expression of love for music and strings that I won't soon forget.

But, there is so much more going on here for these young adults. They are learning. They are learning about leadership. About teaching. About giving. They are learning new ways to love children, their community, their art, themselves. Some of them are clearly picking up techniques for teaching that they never dreamed would part of their counselor experience. May are discussing pedagogical concepts. Others are discussing child development. Others are seeing new ways of appreciating their own experience as a kid at the camp several years ago.

It is absolutely wonderful to watch. I love watching kids turn into adults. It is magical. This all happens at the Alaska String Camp each summer as well. I think this is one of the reasons that I love both of these camps so much. They are not just developing the kids that attend the camp. These camps serve as community development. And, after all, the orchestra is a community.

Community matters. Lamar Stringfield String Camp is building communities. The counselors at Lamar are fantastic and I am honored to be working with them. Thanks for all of your efforts.

2 days to go. It has been great.

Peace.
Scott

Phyllis Garris: Founder of the Lamar Stringfield String Camp

As I promised in my previous post, I want to give a bit more information about the wonderful string camp where I am working this summer. The Lamar Stringfield String Camp is celebrating it's 30th anniversary this year and is in full swing this week. The camp was founded by Meredith College Music Faculty member, Phyllis Garriss. Her vision for the camp was and continues to be to provide a meaningful string music experience for children of a variety of ages and playing levels in the context of a nurturing environment. Additionally, it is important that the camp supports the local public school string programs and teachers. Campers receive instruction on technique and music theory, a daily orchestra rehearsal and sectional rehearsal, and a daily concert by local professionals or advanced students. Students may also remain at the camp for a popular daily "extended day" experience that includes swimming and recreational fun with the camp counselor staff. All of these wonderful experiences would have never been possible without the vision of Phyllis Garriss. It is her love for teaching, children, and string music that paved the way for this wonderful legacy.

Phyllis Garriss is associate professor emeritus of string instruction at Meredith and is founding director of the Lamar Stringfield String Music Camp. She holds undergraduate degrees from Hastings College and an M.M. from Eastman School of Music. She has held teaching positions at DePauw University and Ball State University, in addition to Meredith. A former National Secretary of the American String Teachers Association, Professor Garriss is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, the Music Teachers National Association, the American String Teachers Association, Local 500 of the Musicians Association, and past-president of the Raleigh Music Club. She performs with the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra and the Capital String Ensemble.

It is my pleasure to let you know a bit more about Phyllis Garriss and the Lamar Stringfield String Camp. I know that there are many wonderful camps around the country that occupy similar places in their individual communities. I am so pleased to be art of this camp that serves the Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill communities.

Peace.
Scott

Lamar Stringfield String Camp 2009

This week (and last) I am teaching at the Lamar Stringfield String Camp at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. This little string camp is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and is truly a gem in our world of string education.

The camp is 2 weeks long and students have the option of attending for 1 or both of the weeks of camp. It serves students from ages 6 through high school and all levels of playing. The camp features 3 orchestras, music theory lessons, sectional rehearsals, technique lessons, a daily concert, opportunities for swimming and other activities, and lots of fun and love. In addition to a staff of wonderful professionals from the world of string education, there is a team of "counselors" that are advanced string players from local high schools and colleges that serve an invaluable role for the camp as the liaison between the instructors and the students.

In the coming days I will post some various thoughts and remarks about the camp. There are so many positive things going on here and I really want to share them with you all.

For now, let me just say that I am having a great time and am so pleased to be part of this wonderful camp for the 2nd year. The camp was founded by Phyllis Garris, a long time string faculty member at Meredith College. The is wonderful loving woman who is truly interested in getting kids excited about string music. The camp directors are Margaret Garris, Phyllis' daughter and string educator, who is carrying on the tradition started by her Mom, and Virginia Hudson, cello instructor at Meredith. They are magnificent folks that truly keep the overall vision of the camp in focus as they prepare for each and every day of the experience.

Two of my sons are attending the camp this week (more about this later) and I couldn't feel more fortunate for them to have this opportunity.

If you are in the Raleigh area and teaching strings, check out the camp and send your students. They will have an experience of a lifetime.

More to come on this great camp.

For now, I have to head to Raleigh!

Peace.
Scott