It has been a while since I wrote for myself and not for my Colombia project, and a lot of things have happened during this time!
The CornoColombia project went pretty well for the most part, but I don't know if I will be able to find funding to continue the project in the future. I'm keeping my eyes out for lots of project opportunities, and I've already found some other kinds of community program funding that I may be able to use for a project, though most of them are limited to within the United States. I'll keep updating as I find out more!
I also heard back from all the graduate schools I applied for. Ultimately, I decided to attend the Yale School of Music in the fall, where I'll get my Master's in Horn Performance. I'm really excited about going there. I'll be studying with Bill Purvis and I really enjoyed my trial lesson with him. So I'll also be updating about how things work out there! Really, though, I'm not going there to get my Master's degree. Really, I want to get a job, and if I get one before I finish my studies, it's going to be a tough decision which to pursue immediately! I haven't found about any autumn auditions yet, except for two at the New York Philharmonic, and I haven't decided yet if I'm going to do that or not.
Anyways, that's all stuff for the future! Right now I'm more focused on the end of my time here at NEC. After the end of classes, I was still super busy with a variety of gigs, last minute solfege tutoring before exams, working in the admissions office, and practicing. Now that even those things are done, I'm frantically packing up all the stuff I've accumulated over the past four years into cardboard boxes before my parents arrive for commencement events this weekend. It's amazing how much stuff I have, even though I don't have that many clothes. I think most of my stuff falls into the realm of books, what with the three boxes I already filled with textbooks and music. Packing is extra complicated, though, because not only am I packing up everything I own; I also have to separate out things that I won't be taking back to school in the fall, and which things I will be taking with me to Brazil this summer.
Speaking of Brazil, let me share with you my schedule for this summer! I get back home on May 23 after driving all the way from Boston to DC... and then I have a week of various appointments and time to hang out with friends from high school and unpack a bit, before I leave for Salvador on June 1. I will be living there and working for NEOJIBA until late July, when we leave for our tour of Europe! Working for the orchestra basically means coaching the horn section and giving lessons as needed, but I will also be performing with them this year, so it will be just like being a permanent member of the orchestra would be. The European tour, as far as I've heard through the grapevine, will be in Berlin and Geneva, but nothing is official yet. I'm really looking forward to it regardless! This whole summer I'll be doing my best to blog regularly, but since it hasn't been 100% established yet where I'm living, there is no guarantee that I will have internet access at all. Even if I don't really, I can still post a little bit using the internet at the rehearsal space, but I won't be able to even check my email regularly.
Anyways, I just wanted to post a quick update on how things are going. As I said, I'll try to update regularly from Brazil this summer.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
CornoColombia: Days 8-10
Our last days working in Colombia were spent at the National University's conservatory. I worked with a variety of students through two afternoons. On the first day, we warmed up together, and completed various technical exercises, such as on articulation, scales and arpeggios, and other standard concepts. Then two student ensembles played for me.
First, a fairly advanced group sight-read a quartet. We discussed together what could be done to improve the performance and then after some work on having the same articulations and intonation, they gave a mini-performance. In addition to discussing how to fix these things in this situation (as in, in a rehearsal setting), we also talked about how to fix things in the context of an orchestral rehearsal in which you don't know the other players in the section and don't have the opportunity to rehearse independently from the ensemble. So we discussed how to adjust your intonation to match other people's, and how to make the same stylistic choices without having to discuss anything verbally. Watch this video of their second reading!
Next, a group of less advanced students played. They told me they are the basic level, which I believe means they were in kind of a conservatory training program for older teenagers who weren't yet ready to enter the university. In this group there was a huge range of levels, from some who could only play a few notes to students nearly on the level of the university players. They played an easy quartet for me, and then we practiced making the note lengths the same across all parts and registers.
To finish the day's work, a number of students then played for me in a master class format. I tried to give general comments, however, so the students observing the class could also benefit from the ideas that I presented. The horn professors at the University were watching my class and asked that I continue discussion of two specific ideas in my class the following day.
The second day, I worked with all the students on these two ideas. First, there is an exercise that my teacher loves called Path, which aids you to find the center of the note and play with more stability, without missing notes. It also allows you more flexibility, since it develops smooth transitions between registers. This easily segued into the second idea, about adjustments in mouthpiece angling between registers. The teacher asked that I work on these ideas because he was not familiar with these exercises, though of course he had been working on the problem with his students in other ways. At the end of the class, I answered lots of questions from the students, about everything from my personal warm-up routine to who my favorite horn players are, and what I think about different alternate fingerings.
With the work in Colombia concluded, we were able to embrace Colombian culture by going out on the town that night. The next day we traveled back to our respective countries.
I am extremely grateful for the opportunities doing this project presented for me. I feel like I was able to help a variety of students in this country, not just by teaching, but also by just sharing my ideas with them as a contrasting viewpoint to what they had been exposed to before. I was also able to bring many books about horn playing to them that they had never seen before, or that were nearly impossible to find there.
I learned that in the first two programs I worked for, the main problems are difficult family situations, which make it difficult for the students to focus on their music making; and an inadequate student/teacher ratio, so that some students had major technical problems that had not yet been addressed on a personal level. At the Universidad Nacional, the students were not publicly funded so some of them had difficulties buying things like oils to maintain their instruments. Overall, however, the biggest problem was the lack of access to sheet music and high quality recordings. Everywhere I went, everyone was amazed by the music that I brought and begged for the chance to copy them, even some books that were entirely in English. The most popular books were the horn ensembles; Yuli, my host, told me that it's nearly impossible to find good arrangements for horn ensemble in Colombia.
I hope that I can continue my work for CornoColombia in the future. I will seek further grant funding to buy books and other materials to send to these programs and the teachers that I met there, and possibly to return to Colombia to work more with all of these programs. While I was there, I also learned about an international horn festival that will be taking place in Bogota this September or October. They will invite a variety of international faculty members and guest soloists and I hope that I might be able to attend!
First, a fairly advanced group sight-read a quartet. We discussed together what could be done to improve the performance and then after some work on having the same articulations and intonation, they gave a mini-performance. In addition to discussing how to fix these things in this situation (as in, in a rehearsal setting), we also talked about how to fix things in the context of an orchestral rehearsal in which you don't know the other players in the section and don't have the opportunity to rehearse independently from the ensemble. So we discussed how to adjust your intonation to match other people's, and how to make the same stylistic choices without having to discuss anything verbally. Watch this video of their second reading!
Next, a group of less advanced students played. They told me they are the basic level, which I believe means they were in kind of a conservatory training program for older teenagers who weren't yet ready to enter the university. In this group there was a huge range of levels, from some who could only play a few notes to students nearly on the level of the university players. They played an easy quartet for me, and then we practiced making the note lengths the same across all parts and registers.
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| Coaching the intermediate group |
The second day, I worked with all the students on these two ideas. First, there is an exercise that my teacher loves called Path, which aids you to find the center of the note and play with more stability, without missing notes. It also allows you more flexibility, since it develops smooth transitions between registers. This easily segued into the second idea, about adjustments in mouthpiece angling between registers. The teacher asked that I work on these ideas because he was not familiar with these exercises, though of course he had been working on the problem with his students in other ways. At the end of the class, I answered lots of questions from the students, about everything from my personal warm-up routine to who my favorite horn players are, and what I think about different alternate fingerings.
With the work in Colombia concluded, we were able to embrace Colombian culture by going out on the town that night. The next day we traveled back to our respective countries.
I am extremely grateful for the opportunities doing this project presented for me. I feel like I was able to help a variety of students in this country, not just by teaching, but also by just sharing my ideas with them as a contrasting viewpoint to what they had been exposed to before. I was also able to bring many books about horn playing to them that they had never seen before, or that were nearly impossible to find there.
I learned that in the first two programs I worked for, the main problems are difficult family situations, which make it difficult for the students to focus on their music making; and an inadequate student/teacher ratio, so that some students had major technical problems that had not yet been addressed on a personal level. At the Universidad Nacional, the students were not publicly funded so some of them had difficulties buying things like oils to maintain their instruments. Overall, however, the biggest problem was the lack of access to sheet music and high quality recordings. Everywhere I went, everyone was amazed by the music that I brought and begged for the chance to copy them, even some books that were entirely in English. The most popular books were the horn ensembles; Yuli, my host, told me that it's nearly impossible to find good arrangements for horn ensemble in Colombia.
I hope that I can continue my work for CornoColombia in the future. I will seek further grant funding to buy books and other materials to send to these programs and the teachers that I met there, and possibly to return to Colombia to work more with all of these programs. While I was there, I also learned about an international horn festival that will be taking place in Bogota this September or October. They will invite a variety of international faculty members and guest soloists and I hope that I might be able to attend!
Monday, April 4, 2011
CornoColombia: Days 5-7
After two days working in Tocancipa, we had a day off on Monday because it was a national holiday in Colombia. However, we weren't really able to do anything because the weather was terrible, so instead we went to see a movie.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we worked at Tocar y Luchar. This is a nucleo modeled after the Venezuelan "El Sistema" pattern. In Venezuela, however, most of the program's funding comes from the government. In Colombia, the way the government is set up makes it very difficult to receive sufficient funding. Therefore, this program is instead funded by CAFAM, a corporation devoted to social growth. CAFAM sponsors a number of secondary schools (called colegios), providing the students with everything they need, from uniforms and shoes to paper and pencils. Located in a pretty impoverished neighborhood of Bogota, the colegio we worked at is one of the CAFAM schools expanding into the sphere of music education. Most of the students had been playing a little less than a year, though there were also a lot of complete beginners. CAFAM provides the students with the instruments and music that they need, as well as all the supplies needed to maintain their instruments in good playing condition. Though the program was started about a year ago, they have only been playing together in orchestra for six months.
Because the students have school in the mornings, we were only working in the afternoons and evenings of two days. On the first day, I began the workshop with breathing exercises. I know from my own time learning in group classes in elementary and middle school that often fundamental problems of playing come from being rushed into playing without sufficient warm-up time for beginners and early intermediate students. After about half an hour of work on expanding lung capacity, articulations and how they relate to respiration, and taking rapid but full breaths, we then moved on to playing with a very thorough warm-up routine designed from a variety of early method books. Afterward we spent the rest of the day going through one by one and fixing any problems they might have in their playing. The problem is that at this program each teacher has on average five or six students of sometimes very different levels, so it is very difficult for them to give much individual attention to any one student. Each played one or two notes (or a scale if they were advanced enough) and then the whole group discussed what strategies could be used to fix the problem. For example, one student had a somewhat muffled tone. Some of the more advanced students hypothesized that it could be from a closed position with the right hand, but we soon established that the real culprit was a raised tongue.
The second day, we again began with a thorough group warm-up. Then one of the teachers took the beginning students to do some work with them, while I worked with the intermediate students on more difficult flexibility exercises and range extension. In the third part of the afternoon, we worked on their orchestra music. They were studying an arrangement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1, which is originally for two horns, and it was really difficult for them because three people were doubling every part, which made the intonation extremely difficult. Finally, I worked a bit with the beginning students, on how to change notes, and how to control whether they move up or down in pitch. (Like I said, they were very much beginners!) Then, as a surprise, the whole orchestra gathered to present a performance for us of Beethoven! It was their first time playing this piece together. I was impressed by the quality of their performance for such young musicians! Because of privacy concerns, I was asked not to post photos or videos of the students in a public forum, such as this blog or on YouTube, but I have uploaded an audio clip of their Beethoven. Enjoy, and check back soon for information about the rest of my trip!
On Tuesday and Wednesday, we worked at Tocar y Luchar. This is a nucleo modeled after the Venezuelan "El Sistema" pattern. In Venezuela, however, most of the program's funding comes from the government. In Colombia, the way the government is set up makes it very difficult to receive sufficient funding. Therefore, this program is instead funded by CAFAM, a corporation devoted to social growth. CAFAM sponsors a number of secondary schools (called colegios), providing the students with everything they need, from uniforms and shoes to paper and pencils. Located in a pretty impoverished neighborhood of Bogota, the colegio we worked at is one of the CAFAM schools expanding into the sphere of music education. Most of the students had been playing a little less than a year, though there were also a lot of complete beginners. CAFAM provides the students with the instruments and music that they need, as well as all the supplies needed to maintain their instruments in good playing condition. Though the program was started about a year ago, they have only been playing together in orchestra for six months.
Because the students have school in the mornings, we were only working in the afternoons and evenings of two days. On the first day, I began the workshop with breathing exercises. I know from my own time learning in group classes in elementary and middle school that often fundamental problems of playing come from being rushed into playing without sufficient warm-up time for beginners and early intermediate students. After about half an hour of work on expanding lung capacity, articulations and how they relate to respiration, and taking rapid but full breaths, we then moved on to playing with a very thorough warm-up routine designed from a variety of early method books. Afterward we spent the rest of the day going through one by one and fixing any problems they might have in their playing. The problem is that at this program each teacher has on average five or six students of sometimes very different levels, so it is very difficult for them to give much individual attention to any one student. Each played one or two notes (or a scale if they were advanced enough) and then the whole group discussed what strategies could be used to fix the problem. For example, one student had a somewhat muffled tone. Some of the more advanced students hypothesized that it could be from a closed position with the right hand, but we soon established that the real culprit was a raised tongue.
The second day, we again began with a thorough group warm-up. Then one of the teachers took the beginning students to do some work with them, while I worked with the intermediate students on more difficult flexibility exercises and range extension. In the third part of the afternoon, we worked on their orchestra music. They were studying an arrangement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1, which is originally for two horns, and it was really difficult for them because three people were doubling every part, which made the intonation extremely difficult. Finally, I worked a bit with the beginning students, on how to change notes, and how to control whether they move up or down in pitch. (Like I said, they were very much beginners!) Then, as a surprise, the whole orchestra gathered to present a performance for us of Beethoven! It was their first time playing this piece together. I was impressed by the quality of their performance for such young musicians! Because of privacy concerns, I was asked not to post photos or videos of the students in a public forum, such as this blog or on YouTube, but I have uploaded an audio clip of their Beethoven. Enjoy, and check back soon for information about the rest of my trip!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
CornoColombia: Days 1-4
Hi, everyone! I've just returned from my trip to Colombia! Unfortunately, because of extremely limited internet connectivity, I was unable to post on this blog as I had planned to. So now I will attempt to recreate the blog posts that would have been here if I had had internet access!
I arrived in Colombia on March 17 early in the afternoon, and was met at the airport by Yuli, my host and my main aid in organizing all the activities of my trip. I was also met by my boyfriend, who traveled there at the same time to work with percussion students, though he of course was not sponsored by the grant.
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| We're excited to be in Colombia! |
After a long taxi ride to Yuli's home in a suburb on the other side of the city from the airport, we spent the rest of the day relaxing, getting used to our surroundings, and planning the types of materials that I should use to work with each group/program. I brought about 30 books with me on the trip, including method books, technique exercises, and works for horn ensembles. I went through all of them with Yuli to determine which were appropriate levels for each group, and to become further acquainted with the purpose and organizational structure of the programs.
The next day, Friday, was a free day. We slept in a little to get over the fatigue from the previous day of traveling, then went into downtown Bogota to do some sight-seeing. I knew before I arrived in Colombia that I would be staying outside the city, but it was pretty far to go in. Some days we took taxis, but usually we traveled via TransMilenio, Bogota's public transportation system. The TransMilenio is a system of buses, which drive in their own lanes on all major roads so as to avoid the problems of traffic. Also, it is not a dangerous place to be, even for someone who is obviously North-American, like me. Since it's so safe, we were able to use it almost all the time, except very late at night when I had my instrument with me. So into the city we went! We spent most of the time in La Candelaria, the historic center of Bogota, where most of the museums and many historic churches and cathedrals are located. We visited nearly all of the museums, many churches, and we even took some pictures outside the president's house!
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| With Yuli in the Botero Museum |
It was a good thing that we went back home pretty early on Friday, because Saturday was the first day of work. We were working at Sabana Centro, a music program for children in Tocancipa. Tocancipa is a Colombian city outside of Bogota (see map below), but since it was on the opposite side of the city from San Mateo, where we were staying, it was a pretty long trip to get there. We spent about 2 or 2 1/2 hours on different buses on our way there. We arrived in a small town that seems to me fairly typical of rural Colombia from my experience there last July. The town was very small, with a few restaurants, markets, and one large building that is the music school. Students go there from all over the area to play with the youth programs. They have an orchestra and a few bands.
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I worked first with a variety of students, from beginning (one with just 1 week of playing!) to high intermediate. First, we warmed up together and discussed basic means of sound production. I then went student by student through the group, correcting problems of position, technique, and breathing. After lunch, the beginning students left and I worked with the intermediate level students on basic ensemble. I played a horn quartet with the other teachers while the students watched, then the students sight-read an easier piece. We discussed the types of markings that come up often in scores, such as tempo markings, repeats, articulations, and dynamics, as well as how to play together well, including how to coordinate fast notes, match note lengths and articulations, and cue or follow someone else's cues. After one more run-through (watch the video below!), it was time to take the long trip back home.
The next day, Sunday, we again spent working in Tocancipa. In the morning, I worked exclusively with the beginning students, on technique (including basic fingerings and long tones) as well as reviewed the concepts of positioning we had talked about the previous day. To culminate our time together, we worked on a very simple trio from one of the method books I brought, which involved just stepwise motion and differentiating between similar-feeling partials on the horn. Below you can watch a video of their final performance!
In the afternoon, I worked with the staff members at the program, as well as the more advanced students, on some more trios and quartets, and we finished off by playing some orchestral excerpts and discussing the excerpts' stylistic difficulties.
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| Working on ensemble playing with intermediate students |
Altogether, I had a fantastic time working at Sabana Centro Tocancipa with the students and teachers there, and check back soon for information about the rest of my trip!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Preparing for the Trip
As the trip draws closer, I'm completing the final preparations for my ten day trip to Colombia! In the past few weeks, I have been busy making contacts in the Colombian musical scene, collecting teaching materials, and buying French horn maintainence materials (such as oil and valve string) to donate to the programs I will be working with. I will be using materials from a variety of horn method and etude books, including a great bilingual book for beginning students that I found with the help of Ken Pope. I've also been working to solidify what exactly my schedule will be during my time there. Here is my schedule of activities:
March 19-20: Work with 11 students (from three different groups) at Sabana Centro on basic technique and ensemble
March 22-23: Work with 13 students (from three different groups) at the Universidad Nacional on more advanced technique, orchestral repertoire, and basic chamber music
March 24-25: Work with 12 beginning students (from two different groups) on basic techinque, and possibly simple orchestral repertoire
Also, the group that sparked my interest in doing this project, the Filarmonica Joven de Colombia, will be having a concert on the night of March 19 so I will also be attending that concert while I am in Bogota.
Through people I've met with at NEC, I've added some more people to my list of contacts in Colombia. Hopefully I'll be able to meet with them during my time there! I'll post from the residency about who I meet.
Also in the past few weeks, this project was featured on the New England Conservatory website. Check out this link, where you can watch an interview about my project and also learn about the projects my colleagues are creating, and also this page, which is the permanent link for information about CornoColombia on the NEC website. You can also watch my video below, if you scroll down to the bottom of this post.
Check back soon for updates from the trip!
El viaje se está acercando, y estoy completando los preparativos finales para mis diez días en Colombia! En las últimas semanas, he estado ocupada haciendo contactos en la escena musical colombiana, encontrando materiales de enseñanza, y comprando materiales de mantenimiento del corno (como aceite y la cuerda de los pistones) para donar a las programas con que trabajaré. Voy a utilizar variedad de métodos y libros de estudios, incluyendo un buen libro bilingüe para estudiantes de nivel principiante que encontre con la ayuda de Ken Pope. También he estado trabajando en lo que será mi horario. Aquí está mi horario de actividades:
19-20 marzo: Trabajaré (I'll work, sounds better) con 11 alumnos (de tres grupos diferentes) en Sabana Centro sobre técnica y ensamble básicos
22-23 marzo: Trabajaré con 13 alumnos (de tres grupos diferentes) en la Universidad Nacional sobre técnica más avanzada, repertorio orquestal y música de cámara
24-25 marzo: Trabajaré con 12 estudiantes principiantes (a partir de dos grupos diferentes) tecnica basica, y posiblemente repertorio orquestal básico
Además, el grupo que despertó mi interés por hacer este proyecto, la Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, va a tener un concierto la noche del 19 de marzo, así que estaré presente en el concierto en mi estadía en Bogotá. A través de personas que he conocido en el New England Conservatory, he agregado más personas a mi lista de contactos en Colombia. Esperemos que podemos encontrarnos durante la residencia! Voy a publicar acerca de la residencia.
En las últimas semanas, este proyecto fue publicado en el sitio web de New England Conservatory. Echa un vistazo a este link,donde se puede ver una entrevista sobre mi proyecto y también aprender sobre los proyectos que mis colegas están creando, y también esta página, que es el link permanente de información sobre CornoColombia en la página web de NEC. También puede ver mi vídeo aqui (lo siento, solo en ingles)!
Vuelve pronto para mas actualizaciones sobre el viaje!
March 19-20: Work with 11 students (from three different groups) at Sabana Centro on basic technique and ensemble
March 22-23: Work with 13 students (from three different groups) at the Universidad Nacional on more advanced technique, orchestral repertoire, and basic chamber music
March 24-25: Work with 12 beginning students (from two different groups) on basic techinque, and possibly simple orchestral repertoire
Also, the group that sparked my interest in doing this project, the Filarmonica Joven de Colombia, will be having a concert on the night of March 19 so I will also be attending that concert while I am in Bogota.
Through people I've met with at NEC, I've added some more people to my list of contacts in Colombia. Hopefully I'll be able to meet with them during my time there! I'll post from the residency about who I meet.
Also in the past few weeks, this project was featured on the New England Conservatory website. Check out this link, where you can watch an interview about my project and also learn about the projects my colleagues are creating, and also this page, which is the permanent link for information about CornoColombia on the NEC website. You can also watch my video below, if you scroll down to the bottom of this post.
Check back soon for updates from the trip!
El viaje se está acercando, y estoy completando los preparativos finales para mis diez días en Colombia! En las últimas semanas, he estado ocupada haciendo contactos en la escena musical colombiana, encontrando materiales de enseñanza, y comprando materiales de mantenimiento del corno (como aceite y la cuerda de los pistones) para donar a las programas con que trabajaré. Voy a utilizar variedad de métodos y libros de estudios, incluyendo un buen libro bilingüe para estudiantes de nivel principiante que encontre con la ayuda de Ken Pope. También he estado trabajando en lo que será mi horario. Aquí está mi horario de actividades:
19-20 marzo: Trabajaré (I'll work, sounds better) con 11 alumnos (de tres grupos diferentes) en Sabana Centro sobre técnica y ensamble básicos
22-23 marzo: Trabajaré con 13 alumnos (de tres grupos diferentes) en la Universidad Nacional sobre técnica más avanzada, repertorio orquestal y música de cámara
24-25 marzo: Trabajaré con 12 estudiantes principiantes (a partir de dos grupos diferentes) tecnica basica, y posiblemente repertorio orquestal básico
Además, el grupo que despertó mi interés por hacer este proyecto, la Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, va a tener un concierto la noche del 19 de marzo, así que estaré presente en el concierto en mi estadía en Bogotá. A través de personas que he conocido en el New England Conservatory, he agregado más personas a mi lista de contactos en Colombia. Esperemos que podemos encontrarnos durante la residencia! Voy a publicar acerca de la residencia.
En las últimas semanas, este proyecto fue publicado en el sitio web de New England Conservatory. Echa un vistazo a este link,donde se puede ver una entrevista sobre mi proyecto y también aprender sobre los proyectos que mis colegas están creando, y también esta página, que es el link permanente de información sobre CornoColombia en la página web de NEC. También puede ver mi vídeo aqui (lo siento, solo en ingles)!
Vuelve pronto para mas actualizaciones sobre el viaje!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
CornoColombia: Project Introduction
For most people, when they think of the nation of Colombia, classical music is one of the last things that comes to mind. Despite stereotypes of violence and political instability, the music scene of this country is developing rapidly, as I learned this summer when I spent four weeks there touring both rural areas and major cities with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, commonly known as YOA. The most influential aspect of this tour for me, however, was meeting the musicians from the orchestra that was touring with us. Called the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia, or FJC for short, this new orchestra was comprised of many of the most talented young Colombian musicians, discovered through nation-wide auditions. Knowing that most of these musicians did not have experienced teachers or the resources that most American students take for granted (such as a professional orchestra in their city, access to printed sheet music, and the opportunity to play in high-level student ensembles), I expected to hear a performance decidedly amateur in execution. At our first joint performance, I was astounded to hear such a caliber of playing set forth by people with none of the experiences that I take for granted. There are so many talented young musicians in Colombia that it is a huge pity that there is not more of a musical infrastructure to support their activities and aspirations. I made a vow upon leaving that I would do whatever I could to return to help the musicians of this country.
When I found out about NEC’s entrepreneurial musicianship grants, I knew that I had to apply to return to Colombia to work with the students there! With the help of some friends and horn-playing contacts, I established three organizations that would welcome my help during a residency of ten days in March of 2011. These three organizations are “Tocar y Luchar” CAFAM Colombia, Sabana Centro, and the National University of Colombia. I will give master classes, coaching sessions, and private lessons to a wide variety of students at all three programs, and possibly present a recital at the end of my time there.
Please keep an eye on this blog and check back regularly for more project updates and details. There will be additional posts on Facebook regarding upcoming events, and videos on YouTube with recordings of the sessions in Colombia. Further information will be posted here as soon as possible!
Para la mayoría de las personas cuando piensan en Colombia, música clásica es una de las últimas cosas que pasan por su mente. A pesar de los estereotipos de violencia e inestabilidad política, el panorama musical de este país se desarrolla rápidamente; tal como aprendí este verano al pasar cuatro semanas recorriendo, tanto sus áreas rurales como ciudades más importantes con la Orquesta Juvenil de las Américas, conocida comúnmente como YOA. Sin embargo, el aspecto más influyente de este recorrido fue la convivencia con los músicos de la orquesta colombiana con la que viajábamos, llamada Filarmónica Joven de Colombia o FJC; compuesta por muchos de los más talentosos músicos colombianos descubiertos a través de audiciones nacionales.
Sabiendo que la mayoría de estos no contaban con profesores con suficiente experiencia o los recursos con que muchos estudiantes estadounidenses cuentan (tal como orquestas profesionales en su ciudad, acceso a partituras impresas, y la oportunidad de tocar en ensambles estudiantiles de alto nivel), esperaba escuchar una interpretación decididamente “aficionada” o “amateur”; pero en nuestro primer encuentro musical, quedé asombrada al escuchar tan gran calidad viniendo de personas que no han contado con ninguna de las oportunidades que yo sí.
Hay tantos jóvenes talentosos en Colombia que es una gran lástima que allí no haya una infraestructura musical que soporte sus actividades y aspiraciones; por lo cual al dejar Colombia hice una promesa: “haría lo necesario para volver y ayudar a los músicos de este país”.
Cuando me enteré de las becas de emprendimiento musical del NEC, supe que debía aplicar para regresar a Colombia y trabajar con sus estudiantes. Con la ayuda de algunos cornistas y amigos, contacté tres organizaciones que recibirían mi ayuda durante una residencia de diez días en marzo del 2011. Estas tres organizaciones son "Tocar y Luchar" CAFAM Colombia, Sabana Centro, y la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Durante mi estadía en Colombia dictaré clases maestras, sesiones de preparación y clases individuales a una amplia variedad de estudiantes de estos tres programas, y posiblemente realizaremos un recital como clausura de la residencia. Por favor mantente en contacto con este blog, revísalo regularmente para actualizarte sobre el proyecto y sus detalles. Habrá publicaciones adicionales en Facebook relacionadas con los próximos eventos, y videos en YouTube con grabaciones de las sesiones en Colombia. Alguna información adicional será publicada tan pronto como sea posible.
When I found out about NEC’s entrepreneurial musicianship grants, I knew that I had to apply to return to Colombia to work with the students there! With the help of some friends and horn-playing contacts, I established three organizations that would welcome my help during a residency of ten days in March of 2011. These three organizations are “Tocar y Luchar” CAFAM Colombia, Sabana Centro, and the National University of Colombia. I will give master classes, coaching sessions, and private lessons to a wide variety of students at all three programs, and possibly present a recital at the end of my time there.
Please keep an eye on this blog and check back regularly for more project updates and details. There will be additional posts on Facebook regarding upcoming events, and videos on YouTube with recordings of the sessions in Colombia. Further information will be posted here as soon as possible!
Para la mayoría de las personas cuando piensan en Colombia, música clásica es una de las últimas cosas que pasan por su mente. A pesar de los estereotipos de violencia e inestabilidad política, el panorama musical de este país se desarrolla rápidamente; tal como aprendí este verano al pasar cuatro semanas recorriendo, tanto sus áreas rurales como ciudades más importantes con la Orquesta Juvenil de las Américas, conocida comúnmente como YOA. Sin embargo, el aspecto más influyente de este recorrido fue la convivencia con los músicos de la orquesta colombiana con la que viajábamos, llamada Filarmónica Joven de Colombia o FJC; compuesta por muchos de los más talentosos músicos colombianos descubiertos a través de audiciones nacionales.
Sabiendo que la mayoría de estos no contaban con profesores con suficiente experiencia o los recursos con que muchos estudiantes estadounidenses cuentan (tal como orquestas profesionales en su ciudad, acceso a partituras impresas, y la oportunidad de tocar en ensambles estudiantiles de alto nivel), esperaba escuchar una interpretación decididamente “aficionada” o “amateur”; pero en nuestro primer encuentro musical, quedé asombrada al escuchar tan gran calidad viniendo de personas que no han contado con ninguna de las oportunidades que yo sí.
Hay tantos jóvenes talentosos en Colombia que es una gran lástima que allí no haya una infraestructura musical que soporte sus actividades y aspiraciones; por lo cual al dejar Colombia hice una promesa: “haría lo necesario para volver y ayudar a los músicos de este país”.
Cuando me enteré de las becas de emprendimiento musical del NEC, supe que debía aplicar para regresar a Colombia y trabajar con sus estudiantes. Con la ayuda de algunos cornistas y amigos, contacté tres organizaciones que recibirían mi ayuda durante una residencia de diez días en marzo del 2011. Estas tres organizaciones son "Tocar y Luchar" CAFAM Colombia, Sabana Centro, y la Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Durante mi estadía en Colombia dictaré clases maestras, sesiones de preparación y clases individuales a una amplia variedad de estudiantes de estos tres programas, y posiblemente realizaremos un recital como clausura de la residencia. Por favor mantente en contacto con este blog, revísalo regularmente para actualizarte sobre el proyecto y sus detalles. Habrá publicaciones adicionales en Facebook relacionadas con los próximos eventos, y videos en YouTube con grabaciones de las sesiones en Colombia. Alguna información adicional será publicada tan pronto como sea posible.
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