MusicWorks: Aminata aged 13

The generous bursary from OUP helped to fund the MusicWorks chamber music course
which took place in Cornwall from 26th July until 2nd August.
This was a wonderfully intense course which demanded a large amount of preparation
before it began. I had to prepare the 2nd violin parts of Haydn Quartet, Opus 71, No
2, Taneyev String Quartet No 6 and Mozart String Quartet K428.
As soon as the course began, I was expected to be able to play my part with great fluency,
ready to listen to and learn from the coaching that we were given. I learned so much about
phrasing, playing while listening to the other parts, and performing as part of an ensemble.
In addition to the in-depth coaching on the prepared pieces, we all spent hours every day
sight reading together, and we played other string ensembles with other members of the
course.
I found that my sight reading and my confidence in my own musicianship grew and
developed as the week went on. We played several informal concerts to each other during
the evenings that week, and in the formal concert to parents and visitors on the last day, we
performed our prepared repertoire.
It was a week of learning, exploration and hard work, during which I was able to develop my
chamber music skills to a great degree, learning from other students on the course as well
as the tutors.  I am very grateful to OUP for the Fiddle Time bursary, without which I
wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of such a stimulating environment and such
invaluable teaching.
Aminata (13)