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