|
Program Information for the Mount Holyoke Boot Camp Sessions
These sessions are designed to provide an intensive and in-depth experience for serious students aged 16-28. Workshops, master classes, lectures, and private lessons provide the participants with a wealth of information on technique, musicianship, practicing, auditions, and career topics.
Detailed lists of master class and workshop topics for each instrument:
Violin
- structuring an efficient practice routine
- developing effective bow strokes
- execution of shifting and left hand movement
- intonation and the importance of playing double stops
- approaching new repertoire effectively
- understanding musical pacing and structure
- creating and communicating character through sound
- overcoming the natural sympathy of the hands
- techniques of tone production
- bridging technique in solo Bach
- the Galamian martele stroke
- "are you focused on music or technique?"
- practicing in phrases
- memory as an extension of knowledge
- subdividing and rhythmical issues
- your stylistic knowledge: classical weight versus big romantic sonority
- special techniques for virtuoso repertoire
- interpreting Bach
- scales, exercises, and etudes: a comprehensive brake down of a series of technical repertoire and how it should be practiced.
- body springs: principles of action and release
- three systems of intonation: just, equal-tempered, and expressive. How to develop them and when to use them.
- career goals and options
- connecting with the audience and getting the point across
- physical projection of concerto repertoire
Viola
- Karen Tuttle's Principles of Coordination
- supervised practice: maximizing your practice time
- the violist as athlete: staying strong and injury-free through core-strengthening dance, yoga, and calisthenics
- audition preparation
- overcoming performance anxiety the Navy Seal way
- what separates us from the violinists?
- developing left hand frame and flexibility using Korgueff, Dounis, and Schradieck
- learning bow speed and distribution through Tartini's The Art of the Bow
- the voices within: internalizing rhythm and pulse
- bowing fundamentals
- the mechanics of shifting
- choosing fingerings wisely
- memorization 101
- stylistic understanding as it relates to technique
- the Bach Suites: structural and harmonic understanding
- the Brahms sonatas
- the concerti in our lives: Walton, Bartok, Hindemith, Stamitz, and Hoffmeister
Cello
- practice and learning techniques: maximizing productivity and retention of information
- developing and maintaining healthy playing habits
- confronting and overcoming performance anxiety
- thumb position calisthenics: a ten minute warm-up
- left hand training using Popper etudes #1-7
- developing vibrato speeds and widths
- difficult passages in the Saint-Saens concerto: how to practice them
- Brahms sonata in E minor: a variety of bow strokes
- the Suites of Bach: seeing the big picture
- creative warm-ups
- scale strategies
- understanding and mastering all types of shifting
- tone production
- communicating musical ideas with clarity
- etudes by Popper, Piatti, and others. Their significance in our quest to build a strong technique.
- the benefits of scale routines in double stops (thirds, sixths, and octaves)
- Romantic concerti: practical considerations of projection and expression
Flute
- creative and intelligent practicing - the core of success
- daily practice/warm-up routines
- how to choose etudes and warm-ups that support and improve your piece
- preparations for orchestra auditions: working with the screen, without the screen, consistent replication of excerpts, endurance
- preparations for the college auditions: concerto, solo piece, orchestral excerpts
- intonation: using tuning devices, tuning CD, and the all important EAR. Personal pitch issues, instrument tendencies, and playing with other winds.
- competitions: research, repertoire and rewards
- recording sessions - practice using a recording device, being your own best teacher, using the best quality recording devices and engineers
- Bach A minor Partita
- Mozart Concerti
- Telemann Fantasias
- Karg-Elert 30 Caprices op.107
- Andersen etudes op. 33 #1, #2, and #6
- Bach E major sonata: what the bass line teaches us about the piece
- orchestral excerpts
- Debussy: Syrinx. Playing with magic and poetry
- Faure: Fantasie
- Reinecke concerto
- owning the audience from the moment you walk on stage
- exploring the Prokofiev sonata
- cueing from the flutist seat in chamber music and orchestra
- exploring complex vowel shapes to enhance your color palate
- "To Bb or Not to Bb, that is the Question...Whether to Suffer the Slings of the Trill or..."
- piccolo: the delightful demon
- application of Alexander Technique to flute
- vibrato production and use
- breath control
Clarinet
- practicing: less is more, define your time
- technique: focusing on what does not work
- musicianship: finding the message behind the notes
- career: combining your musical skills with other talents
- auditions: breathing & relaxation is the path to success
- performance anxiety: dealing and succeeding with stress, not eliminating it
- physical fitness: success and a positive mental attitude through regular exercise
- tone quality: finding your voice to express your ideas
- performance psychology
- embouchure and voicing
- clarinet acoustics and intonation
- Mozart concerto
- the Brahms sonatas
- warm-ups for tone and technique
- orchestral excerpts
- speaking through the wind/reed: articulation
|
|
|