Stanford SLSQ seminar

From the 23^rd of June to the 12^th of July RUSQUARTET spent in Stanford University, California, where it took part in SLSQ seminar (master class of chamber music organized by St. Lawrence String Quartet) and EPGY program (summer creative education program for children aged 12-18)

The seminar offered a unique opportunity to take master classes from leading chamber musicians-members of St Lawrence String Quartet, Gryphon Trio, and Rob Kapilow, a composer, conductor, and a musician.

RUSQUARTET successfully performed at a variety of concerts. The most memorable was the concert at the music salon of Svetlana and Aleksey Fedoseev, where the Quartet’s program included Haydn, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. The welcoming atmosphere of a warm Russian home, made performing there a true joy.

At the seminar closing concert RUSQUARTET performed among six leading chamber orchestras. The Quartet chose Sergei Prokofiev’s string quartet 2, which received a rave review by the violist from Fine Arts Quartet.

Stanford, EPGY program

Most exciting was the second part of the stay in Stanford dedicated to teaching children under the framework of EPGY program. RUSQUARTET held a series of concert lectures for the children studying music professionally as well as the children who just enjoy music.

The lectures comprised performance of a variety of music covering Viennese classicism, early romanticism, and romanticism. Particular focus was on the Russian composers, both classical and Soviet. The genre of chamber music is conducive to informal educational concert talks – together performers and listeners take part in the creative process. Musicians experience firsthand how to perform to get the children interested and excited about music.

The program of Rusquartet:

1st Round

Haydn – Op 76, No. 5 D-Dur

Shostakovich – Quartet No. 1

2-nd Round

Van Delden – Quartet No. 3

Semi Finals

Schubert – D810 ‘Death and the Maiden’

Bartok – Quartet No. 4

Finals

Shostakovich – Quartet No.3

Steve Martland – «Starry Night»

Louis Andriessen will be in attendance throughout the festival, and will be featured in lectures, talks, composition masterclasses and performances.

Andriessen’s music spans many a genre, takes the featherweight as seriously as the profound, an is unmodernistically generous in the way it acknowledges it’s kinship to other musical influences, whether that ‘other’ be Stravinsky or Charlie Parker, Bach or Ives, boogie-woogie or rap. His iconoclastic approach to instrumentation paved the way for many of today’s indie bands. It is this open-mindedness, combined with strict discipline, which has made Andriessen a much sought-after teacher and a major influence on a generation of composers including Steve Martland, David Lang, Julia Wolfe, Cornelis de Bondt and numerous leading Canadian composers including Rodney Sharman, Michael Oesterle, John Korsrud, Allison Cameron and Paul Steenhuisen.

From April 3 to April 8, 2009, Music on Main, Hard Rubber Orchestra and Vancouver New Music present concerts of Andriessen’s music at diverse venues throughout Vancouver. Highlights of the programming include: La Passione for orchestra, solo voice, and violin; M is for Man, Music, Mozart for large ensemble and singer with a film by Peter Greenaway; a marathon concert of chamber music, including Workers Union; recent works from composers influenced by Andriessen; films by Peter Greenaway and Hal Hartley; and an improv cabaret with the composer himself.

In addition to featuring Vancouver’s top musicians, the festival will play host to the celebrated Italian singer Cristina Zavolloni – for whom Andriessen has written the majority of his recent vocal works – and the Amsterdam-based American violinist Monica Germino.

Heritage Hall
3102 Main Street, Vancouver

April 6, 2009, Monday 8:00 PM
For more information Call at 604-879-4816 or E-mail at mgilmour@heritagehall.bc.ca

Heritage Hall