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!

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.

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!

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.


View Larger Map

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.

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!

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!