National Strings senior course: Mimi aged 15

National Strings senior course,  August 2020

My experience at the National Strings Senior Course in August 2020 was amazing! I learnt so much not only from the teachers but also from the other students. I picked up some really useful playing tips from my peers – I saw that they played with great feeling and it inspired me to find a unique connection with the music. During the course my technique improved: for example, I learnt to hold the elbow higher which allowed me to achieve more dynamic range, especially on the G-string. My bowing also improved as I learnt to control the bow using a better hold. This meant I could sustain notes for longer.

The repertoire was varied and interesting. The pieces I worked on were Metamorphosen by Richard Strauss and the first movement from the Schumann Piano Quintet. I really enjoyed playing the Metamorphosen because it is a piece which is unusual but captivating. Metamorphosen is unusual because it is written for 23 solo string instruments, although we played it in a version with scaled-down scoring. It is a very flowing piece with no pauses or breaks. There are many chromatic sections and radical harmonies. I have often heard it, but this was the first time I had actually played it, so that was a really fascinating and enjoyable experience for me.

I had such fun piecing together the Schumann Piano Quintet  with my fellow quintet players! The Schumann was quite challenging especially when starting all together at exactly the same time, but we figured it out by watching each other carefully and the first violin made a signal. Some places I had to play alone which was quite scary but once I became more comfortable with the music I enjoyed the responsibility of having my own line to play. We couldn’t see the piano because we were in front of it so this was also challenging but we listened out for the piano part whilst watching the other players.  It was inspiring to play with people at music college, because they played very well and I found the experience very exciting and valuable.

It was really good for me to play with others, because amid the age of COVID-19 there haven’t been many opportunities to do this, and the course allowed me to reconnect with young musicians and hugely improve my playing.

My sincere thanks to the Joan Dickson Chamber Music Fund for giving me the opportunity to attend this course and to further my skills in chamber music.

Mimi (15)