Our 15th year saw us returning once more to Hope University’s Creative
Campus, which proved to be an excellent venue for our musical activities.
Several of our returning students commented that the facilities we had this
year were the best so far, and I agree!
As
always the staff at Hope were really helpful and gave us a first class service,
enabling us to concentrate on why we were all in Liverpool, to play the clarinet
and enjoy our music making. My thanks to all the team at Hope from the
conference office to the kitchen staff.
Chicco and Caroline worked very hard with all the students and managed to make
everyone relax and realise some of their new found potential, helped along the
way by Peter Salome and Christine, without their continued support the clarinet
summer school wouldn’t be the thriving course that it has become.
I am indebted to them all for their hard work and enthusiasm and in a
difficult time for me personally, their support.
We managed a first this year in having some family chaperones attending some or
all of the sessions, now that’s what I call dedication! It was a really pleasant
experience for us and we hope to encourage others to join us in the future.
The atmosphere during the course was always positive and enthusiastic, well
ok, maybe not first thing in the morning after along night's study……..
The staff all agreed that this year we had the most interesting and well
integrated group of students for many years, so my thanks go to you all for
making it an enjoyable course.
Check out the Facebook pages as they will soon have more of the photos from
the course.
As we have reached something of a milestone in achieving 15 successive years,
we are considering a new name for the course, your ideas on this would be most
welcome, suggestions in an email please……
Whatever happens, there will be a course next year and plans will be underway
before too long, keep checking the website for updates and hope to see you all
next year if not before.
Andrew Roberts
Past students have enjoyed past courses, here is what they have to
say...
“IThere isn't much Andrew Roberts doesn't know about the
mechanics of the clarinet and how to play it. At the annual Clarinet Summer
School in Liverpool he shares this knowledge with enthusiasm and generosity. I
have been to four Summer Schools and always come away energised and with lots of
ideas about how to improve my playing. More recently his Clarinet Service
provided an excellent service.” Jenny Dale, New Mills
“Andrew, I have finally have a few minutes since returning
home to send a short email to you regarding the Summer School. I can't thank you
enough for a wonderful week of meeting new people and focusing in on clarinet
specific issues in a way that I have never experienced before.
I have taken away a great deal of knowledge and information which has increased
my clarinet-playing skills incredibly. I can hear a substantial difference in my
sound compared to how I played before attending the course.
Thanks again for a wonderful experience and I look forward to being able to
attend another Summer School whenever you end up putting one on again.” Brad Gresham, Campbellville, Ontario, Canada
“I attended The Clarinet Summer School in 2000. Then, I
had some fundamental embouchure and technical problems. Now I am training with
the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. The course speaks for itself- START
SAVING.” Ciaran O’Donnel , Belfast, Northern Ireland
“IMany thanks to the organisers of the 2004 Clarinet
Summer School, which once again provided us all with a wonderful week of
clarinet-related activities and opportunities!
I can't emphasise enough how much I have learnt from attending this course - the
tutors do their utmost to enable everyone to achieve their full potential, and
are unfailingly friendly and approachable.
The 'masterclass' format which was used in at least one session every day gave
us all the chance to play to and listen to others, and to absorb a great deal of
valuable information - even if we may not have realised it at the time!
The 'one-to-one' sessions, when we were given the opportunity to book some
individual time with the tutors, were always extremely helpful, and I feel that
in this respect the tutors actually go well above and beyond the call of duty -
individual tuition at no extra cost does not generally feature on any other
music courses I've been on!
One of the week's highlights for me was our clarinet choir's performance in the
foyer of the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool on the final evening of the course,
which gave a welcome focus to our ensemble efforts. It's only now when I come to
write about it that I realise how full our days actually were. Although nothing
was compulsory, most people were keen to attend all the sessions available,
including a film and talk about clarinet production (a real eye-opener!), a talk
on clarinet-related health issues, a demonstration of the principles of the
Alexander Technique, a CD listening session comparing different playing styles
and an inspirational tutors' concert.
I'd recommend this course highly to anyone who has an interest in the clarinet -
I shall certainly be back next year for more!” Joanna Brown, London
Wenzel Fuchs Master Classes
Jorge Montilla Master Classes
Cynthia Doggett Master Class
15 - 22 July 2012
International
Woodwind Festival (IWWF)
- 15 - 22 July 2012 with Artist VIP Faculty Wenzel
Fuchs - Solo Clarinetist in the Berliner Philharmoniker,
Jorg Montilla - former Solo Clarinetist in the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in
Venezuela, and Professor at the Longy School of Music, Juan Gao, renowned
Soloist, teacher, and Director of the Chinese Clarinet Festival and Clarinet
Maker, Cynthia Doggett, Professor at
Central College in Pella, Iowa, and Jonathan Cohler,
Renowned Soloist and Professor at the Boston Conservatory and the Longy School
of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Directors Jonathan Cohler and Dr Doggett,
Directors and Faculty are WKA Artist VIP's
Pella, Iowa USA
An incredible 8 day Festival at a small Central College in Pella, Iowa, featured
one of the most stratospheric artist class training offerings of this summer.
Directors and Artist VIP's Jonathan Cohler from Boston Conservatory, and Cynthis
Doggett, Professor at Central College, achieved a certainly world-class program
with multiple every day (except 1 day to relax and picnic party) master classes,
all video-streamed on the Internet, private lessons for each of the active
student participants, major recitals by both faculty and a competition/recital
for the students with prizes presented, and much socializing to get to know the
faculty and exchange ideas and concepts. The major faculty including world
leader from the Berliner Philharmoniker Wenzel Fuchs, Jorge Montilla from
the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and now Professor at the Longy School of
Music at Harvard University, and 3 major Pianists who coached and
performed preparations with the students and performed the faculty recitals.
Benefits to the students were off the charts as the improvements for each were
staggering. One major point, especially in master class situations,
is how the students picks up on the coachings and concept advice, and sometimes
it takes awhile after he leaves the situation for the light bulb to light up and
thus he sees what is really going on for his playing. There was no
question that the students had their act together very quickly and the artist
faculty had an incredible amount to offer. Galleries soon being posted
tell the intangible story. There can be no argument that
serious players should avail themselves to come to these programs and buckle in
to learn what they can as their playing future depends on this. Several of
these training workshops are offered, and the more that can be attended, the
better.
Not enough credit can be bestowed to the Directors Jon Cohler and Cynthia
Doggett and the incredible contribution to the lives of the attending students
and bring in such world class luminaries as Wenzel Fuchs, Jorge Montilla, and
their support artists. http://10kforclarinet.blogspot.com/2012/07/iwwf-2012.html - a student assessment of the IWWF
Festival
21 July 2012
An all-Mozart
program featuring the Clarinet Concerto performed by Franklin Cohen,
principal clarinet, on Saturday July 21 2012. Since his first solo
appearance with The Cleveland Orchestra, Mr. Cohen has been heard as a concerto
soloist in more than 180 performances – at Severance Hall, Carnegie Hall, the
Blossom Festival, and on tour across the United States, Asia, and Europe.
Surrounding the Concerto are Mozart’s Symphonies Nos. 33 and 41 (“Jupiter”).
Cleveland, Ohio USA
The United States Army
Band (Pershing's Own) Alumni Concerts at the US Capitol with former
members and Retired Musicians Conducted by former Conductors LTC Casey, Colonel
Gary Lamb, and Leader and Commander Thomas Palmatier
Washington, DC USA
The annual
gathering of former members and Band retirees who have served in this Premiere
Band over the last 60+ years presented two concerts at the US Capitol over two
evenings, conducted by Leader and Commander Thomas Palmatier, former Commander
Colonel Gary Lamb, and LTC Casey, a former Executive Commander. Former
members were soloists including retired Sergeant Major Norman Brentley, flutist,
and Choral Conductor Sergeant Major Barry Hemphill who conducted the US Army
Chorus. Reunion events like this, which are looked forward to at other
major service Bands as well, provide a historical tracking back of how the Band
was during those times, including the last several generations going back as far
as World War II, when the Band was called to serve overseas in the European
campaign, and being caught up in the Battle of the Bulge in Germany. The
intangibles of all these memories still resound and the life experiences are
shared with each other and present band members. There was much
socializing with receptions and picnic over the weekend after the concerts where
mingling and friend re-meeting took place. This is an annual event
veterans come in from all over the country. All who come are invited to be
members of The United States Army Band Alumni Association where continuous
contact is maintained. Anyone having been a Band member is encouraged to
join their former colleagues.
4 -
11 July 2012
Belgian Clarinet
Academy with Guest Artist Faculty Robert Spring (Professor at Arizona State
University and Major Soloist and Proponent of New Music), Eddy Vanoosthuyse
(Solo Clarinetist in Brussels Philharmonic, Flemish Chamber Orchestra and
Professor at Ghent Conservatory), Julia Heinen (Professor at California State
University at Northridge and Major Soloist and Pedagogue) and Director Guido Six
(Founder of the Claribel Clarinet Choir and Professor at the Oostend
Conservatory and Past Director of Clar/Fests 93 (Ghent) and ClarinetFest 99 (Oostend)
Oostend, Belgium
By Nicole Moran and Caitlin Poupard
The Belgian Clarinet Academy (BCA) offers clarinetists a truly unique musical
and social experience, set in the beautiful coastal city of Ostend, Belgium. The
2012 BCA, organized by Guido Six, was no exception to this and offered each
student one lesson, and one chamber coaching daily. The students studied with
three world-renowned clarinet professors, Dr. Robert Spring, Dr. Julia Heinen,
and Professor Eddy Vanoosthuyse, and were exposed to a wide variety of teaching
styles and musical input. This rotational system helped to facilitate the
maximum amount of creative and technical growth over the week. After a brief
audition at the Conservatory in Ostend, students were placed into quartets and
assigned a chamber coach for the week. The purpose of daily quartet coachings
was to help students develop and refine essential chamber ensemble skills, such
as group intonation, musical style, and ensemble performance. Students also
attended daily clarinet choir rehearsals, led by Professor Eddy Vanoosthuyse,
where they applied and expanded their newly honed skills acquired in quartet
coachings to a larger ensemble.
Students were encouraged to observe other lessons and quartet coachings. These
observations allowed the students to learn more repertoire and also observe
problem solving skills of master teachers.
In addition to rehearsals, practicing, and lessons,
BCA students
had the opportunity to make personal connections with musicians from around the
world. Many universities were represented in this year’s Academy, including
Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee, and also included
international students. Even with the intense daily schedule, breaks allowed the
students a chance to socialize and exchange experiences and ideas about music,
instruments and accessories. Each night the students were able
to explore the city of Ostend
and submerse themselves in its unique culture, including the delicious
chocolate, waffles and frites. The students formed
extraordinary relationships which continue to flourish much past the time at the
Academy.
BCA students stayed
with host families who generously and graciously opened their homes and fully
immersed the participants in traditional Belgian culture. The host families
provided transportation to and from the Conservatory where the students study
each day. Many of the host families use the daily transport time as an
opportunity to show the students Ostend and relate some of the city’s history.
Students ate breakfast and dinner with their families who introduced them to the
many delicacies of Belgian cuisine. One free day for sight-seeing
provided the participants a chance to explore Belgium.
Most students spent this free time with their host families and visited one of
the true historical gems of Belgium, the city of Bruges where students spent the
day soaking in the beauty and history of the cathedrals and architecture, and
also enjoyed the company of their families. By the end of BCA, the students had
not only become a part of their host families, but also made friends and
memories to last a lifetime.
The last two days at BCA
included performances for soloists, quartets,
and
clarinet choir that featured
student
soloists.
The BCA
concluded its week with a reception for the musicians and their host families.
It was a wonderful way to celebrate, and to say final farewells to newfound
friends.
The students of the Belgium Clarinet Academy would like to thank Guido Six for
organizing this wonderful, week-long program; Dr. Robert Spring, Dr. Julia
Heinen, and Professor Eddie Vanoosthuyse for teaching lessons and coaching the
quartets; Geert Callaert, pianist for accompanying all the clarinetists; the
host families for providing wonderful hospitality to all of BCA’s participants;
the members of Claribel for their assistance with the reception and finally, a
special thanks to Buffet Crampon and Rico Reeds for sponsoring this event.
A major
first supreme Chamber Music Festival, consisting of well themed programs
covering a large gamut of literature and instrumental combinations, and
unparallel performance standards found in major halls like at Lincoln Center,
was held after an ambitious startup a year earlier by Diana Cohen in
collaboration with her father Franklin Cohen, Solo Clarinetist and soloist with
The Cleveland Orchestra. A true and possibly long-living family and music love
affair which can go on for years. More information about the
development is further described and galleried throughout here. Two
reviews from the Cleveland Press are also below and also hyperlinked.
ChamberFest
Cleveland takes flight opening its inaugural season
Published: Friday, June 29, 2012, 12:05 PM Updated:
Friday,
June 29, 2012, 1:28 PM
Gary
Adams Participants in
ChamberFest Cleveland perform Shostakovich's Two
Pieces for String Octet, Op. 11, during the
inaugural concert Wednesday at the Cleveland
Institute of Music's Mixon Hall.
A music festival can only be
called truly festive when imagination meets lofty
artistry. It's already clear that ChamberFest Cleveland
is the real deal.
The newest musical endeavor in town
embarked on its inaugural season in grand fashion with
two wildly different events. The opening concert
Wednesday at the Cleveland Institute of Music's Mixon
Hall journeyed far and wide with works for pianos and
strings. Audience members sipped wine and beer and
munched on popcorn during Thursday's "Movie Night" at
the Wine Spot in Cleveland Heights.
Both events were exhilarating displays
of inventive programming and sophisticated music-making.
Masterminded by violinist Diana Cohen and her father,
Cleveland Orchestra principal clarinetist Franklin
Cohen, ChamberFest has set out to offer chamber-music
euphoria in a jam-packed series of concerts.
So far, the founders have succeeded in
making a "Big Bang," as they've dubbed the inaugural
season, by inviting inspired friends to share five
themed programs in five days -- a requisite schedule for
festival status.
Wednesday's program largely lived up
to its title, "Explosive Beginnings," with a menu of
early works by major composers. Considering that Mozart
wrote his Sonata for Two Pianos in D major, K. 488, at
the age of 25 and died a decade later, the score must be
deemed middle-period.
Wherever it stands, the sonata is an
outpouring of sublime conversations between pianists at
two keyboards. The performers, Matan Porat and Orion
Weiss, exulted in the discussions and exquisite turns of
phrase. Their collaboration was so seamless here, and
later in Lutoslawski's ingenious Variations on a Theme
of Paganini, that it often was difficult to discern who
was playing what (if you didn't peek).
Porat showed his versatility as pianist and composer in
the U.S. premiere of his Fantasy for Violin and Piano
with violinist Yehonatan Berick. The music dances with
zest before taking a mordant turn.
As darkness descends, the violinist
scratches below the bridge and taps the instrument's
body. In a disembodied effect near the end, the pianist
touches the keys without sounding a note. It's a tour de
force that the musicians made a riveting experience.
Berick also nailed the taxing
first-violin part in Shostakovich's Two Pieces for
String Octet, Op. 11, which the Russian composer wrote
when he was 19. As in many of his later works, the
activity broods and rages, sweeps and stops in its
tracks.
The performance combined emotional
intensity with lucid detail, qualities that also
pervaded the account of Mendelssohn's Octet for Strings,
Op. 20 that ended Wednesday's program. Violinist Amy
Schwartz Moretti was the elegant and agile
first-violinist, and the ensemble interacted adroitly,
especially when tiptoeing like high-spirited elves in
the scherzo.
The strings provided Shostakovich with
even more abandon and urgency to open "Movie Night" at
the Wine Spot. The evening included clips from three
Russian films, commentary by composer Patrick Castillo
and Cleveland Clinic doctor Damir Janigro, and Buster
Keaton's 1924 silent film "Sherlock Jr.," with Porat
improvising.
To complement Keaton's delightful
antics, the pianist concocted a score that avoided
Hollywood cliche. Instead, he devised themes and
atmospheres replete with pentatonic writing a la Debussy
and dramatic snippets of weighty resonance.
One of the night's highlights was Lev Atamanov's 1970
cartoon, "Ballerina in a Boat," set to a winsome score
by Alfred Schnittke. The ballerina's extended leaps
could be viewed as metaphors for ChamberFest, which has
taken flight while promising to take up residence in
Cleveland's artistic stratosphere
Artistry, energy surround ChamberFest Cleveland's inaugural
season
Published: Monday, July 02, 2012, 2:39 PM Updated:
Monday,
July 02, 2012, 2:50 PM
Gary Adams From left, pianist Matan Porat,
clarinetist Franklin Cohen and violinist Diana Cohen
take bows after performing Sebastian Currier's "Verge"
during ChamberFest Cleveland on Friday at the Cleveland
Institute of Music's Mixon Hall.
By the time Mozart's Quintet for
Clarinet and Strings floated away Sunday in the barn at
Dunham Tavern, one thing was blazingly clear:
ChamberFest Cleveland generated artistic excitement on a
level that would be the envy of any international music
festival.
The five-day event
brought together a sterling array of musicians who
presented programs filled with sublime works of the
chamber-music repertoire. What's more, ChamberFest's
artistic directors, violinist Diana Cohen and
clarinetist Franklin Cohen, and colleagues maintained
the highest performance standards, while also putting
the music in historical context.
All of the programs had themes, such as "Big Bang," the
moniker of Friday's concert and of the festival's
inaugural season. If ChamberFest didn't always make a
racket, it certainly made a great big impression through
artistry of subtle, eloquent and powerful persuasion.
The program Friday at
the Cleveland Institute of Music's Mixon Hall began with
one of the festival's most recent scores, Sebastian
Currier's "Verge" for Clarinet, Violin and Piano. The
American composer drew inspiration for his work from
"Almost too serious," the title of a movement in
Schumann's piano cycle, "Scenes From Childhood."
Currier's poetic and
potent nine-movement creation takes the musicians
through a series of cliffhangers in terms of tempo and
atmosphere. Each piece is packed with vibrant material,
especially the jolting "almost too much." The Cohens
(father and daughter and pianist Matan Porat supplied
the work with nuanced and crisp detailing.
The influence of Gypsy music could be discerned in the
night's other works, Bartok's Sonata for Two Pianos and
Percussion, and Brahms' Quintet for Piano and Strings in
G minor, Op. 25.
The Bartok places the pianos in conflict and congruence
with a battery of percussion, which add a spectrum of
punctuations to the mysterious and exuberant activity.
In the incisive hands of pianists Porat and Orion Weiss
and percussionists Alexander Cohen (son of Franklin,
brother of Diana) and Marc Damoulakis, the score cast a
wondrous spell.
Warm phrasing and cohesive ensemble were hallmarks of
the performance of the Brahms, in which violinist Noah
Bendix-Balgley was a glistening leader in tandem with
pianist Weiss, violist Yehonatan Berick and cellist
Ralph Kirshbaum. Their swirling account of the final
Rondo alla Zingarese set the scene for a post-concert
performance by the stirring Cleveland Gypsy band known
as Harmonia.
ChamberFest
moved a few blocks away for Saturday's "Rule Smashers"
program at Harkness Chapel, where the participants
presented works by composers of revolutionary
personality. Haydn's String Quartet in C major, Op. 20,
No. 2, an early example of the genre played with
aristocratic grace, shared the evening with music by
Stravinsky, Debussy and Schoenberg.
Listeners who know the pieces by these last three
composers may have missed the colors in the more
expanded versions. But the performances were so alert
and sensitive that they seized the ear. Franklin Cohen,
Berick and Weiss did the ironic honors in the suite from
Stravinsky's "L'Histoire du Soldat." Cohen was a master
of fluidity and dexterity in Debussy's "Premiere
Rhapsody" with Weiss as fine partner.
And there was magic in
the air -- as well as noise from the Cleveland Museum of
Art's Solstice party outside -- when a string sextet
breathed expressive life into the anguished and ecstatic
narrative in Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night."
Sunday's finale, "Origins and Revelations," at Dunham
Tavern epitomized all that is special about chamber
music and ChamberFest. The restored barn is made
entirely of wood, even the pegs that hold the building
together. The room is compact enough for an audience --
more than 200 on this occasion -- to reach out and touch
the performers.
Beautifully limned readings of Shostakovich's String
Quartet No. 7, Op. 108, and Beethoven's Trio for Piano,
Violin and Cello, Op. 70, No. 2, preceded the Mozart
quintet, one of the summits of musical achievement. In
this excellent acoustical space, and in the supremely
polished and elastic artistry of clarinetist Cohen and
friends, the piece sent a signal that ChamberFest
deserves to be a local summertime tradition.
