Algunos Pensamientos

Someone sent me this email asking me to answer these questions about performing in chamber groups. After answering the entire email, I feel enlightened by my answers; until now, I never realised how long I've been involved in performing in chamber groups. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading my answers to these questions just as much as I enjoyed answering them!

1.) How many years have you been playing violin/viola/cello?

Violin-1 year | Viola-This is my 5th year playing.

2.) What are the types of experiences you have had playing outside of school?

I was a member of the Mallarmé Youth Chamber Orchestra (they have a website if you want to check it out) from 10th grade-11th grade. MYCO's mission is to provide advanced middle & high school students a music-only environment where they could focus on learning chamber music & chamber orchestra music under the supervision of professional musicians (ex: Yoram Youngerman, Atar Arad, Dovid Friedlander, etc.). Some students have learned a lot from MYCO & thanks to the instructors, have gone on to greater conservatories, like CIM, Oberlin & Juilliard. Other students used MYCO as a learning experience so they could learn to become more disciplined for whatever field they were pursuing & learn how to work in group projects. I also helped out in SCORE camp, which was a summer music camp at UNC for elementary school kids. Others include Raspberry Ridge, UNCSA Strings Intensive & Greensboro Summer Music Festival.

3.) What are you currently studying at HSoM?

I am a MIS major with a concentration in Marketing & Promotion. I am also pursuing a viola performance certificate.

4.) What experiences do you personally have in chamber music?

I've been playing in multiple chamber groups since 9th grade. MYCO is where I had my first chamber group experiences. At MYCO, everyone was always prepared because we had coachings with very strict but insightful & enlightening musicians. Because of that, everyone cared about the music, therefore our performances were usually pretty good & all of us became pretty close friends being that we shared a common interest & this passion to make amasing music. After MYCO, I've been in chamber groups that were either too passionate about the music & chamber groups with members that could care less. So, I feel like I've had my fair share of chamber group experiences, both the sweet & the sour.

5.) What is your favourite piece of chamber music that you have performed?

Probably Grieg String Quartet No. 1 in G minor, first movement.

6.) Do you have a piece that you are currently working on that you'd like to perform?

N/A because I'm playing every piece that I'm preparing.

7.) What other music-related projects, if any, are you working on?

Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, Hindemith's first movement of Der Schwanendreher, Vieuxtemp's Capriccio, & Bloch's Jewish Prayer for kicks.

8.) How do you find your experiences working with others in chamber groups?

Last week, one of my professors told me that working in groups is probably one of the most frustrating & difficult things I will ever experience in college & she is so right. This also applies to chamber groups because everyone's contribution counts. However, playing in chamber groups is a bit more difficult than an academic group project because if a group member is not doing their fair share in an academic group project, the other group members can pick up their slack. But you can't do that in a chamber group. If the cellist in a string quartet hasn't learned their part & the the concert's a week away, it's not like the first violinist can be like "Oh, that's totally fine, I'll just learn your part for you." Because everyone is bringing in a different set of skills, you need everyone's contribution.

9.) Do you personally find performing in a chamber group an important experience for musicians? Why/why not?

Yes, it teaches you to become more organised, disciplined, & it teaches you how to work in a group. & it just doesn't apply to students/people pursuing a performance career, it also applies for people that are in a chamber group as an extracurricular activity.

10.) Do you have any advice for beginning chamber groups/individuals in chamber groups.

If it's your first time playing in a chamber group & you're trying to get a chamber group together, have only 4 people max in your group (ex: duo, trio, quartet). This is because these days, most people have a life & responsibilities outside of the practise room (ex: part/full-time jobs, academic work, family, friends, etc). If you have at least 5 people in a group, it will probably be extremely difficult/impossible to find at least two 1-hour rehearsal slots. Once you have 4 max people in a group, make a composite schedule & share it in an online document/spreadsheet. Make sure everyone has a fair amount of time to arrive to rehearsal. For example, if you're in a piano trio & you're the pianist & you're making your schedule & you have a class from 9-10 AM, don't write down on your composite schedule that you're available at 10. Instead, say you're available at 10:20 or 10:30 AM so you can give yourself time to get to rehearsal. Stick to those times always, no exceptions. If a group member has an emergency & must skip a rehearsal, don't blow off the rehearsal. Work with the people who can make it. Warm up before a rehearsal for at least 30 minutes. Don't be dissapointed if your first chamber group concert isn't as great as you thought it was going to be/doesn't sound like that intepretation of the Pavel Haas String Quartet, it's a learning experience for all.