Summer School 2019: Joanna Petrie

ESTA SS 2019     Bursary Report from Joanna Petrie

‘How fascinating!’ This tip for responding to mis-haps in lessons was passed on by Lucy Hare in her session ‘The Magic of Making Mistakes’ during the 2019 ESTA Summer School at Chichester University in August and sums up the week beautifully. I count myself as hugely lucky to have been there and thank Universal Edition for sponsoring the Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Bursary that made that possible. Lucy was joined by an array of wonderful presenters who shared their knowledge on everything from the make-up of different types of strings (an enlightening talk by D’Addario) to the amazing possibilities of technology, when Steve Bingham showed that we really can all get into the creative world of looping and enhancing effects – there’s no need to be nervous! Sarah Upjohn’s warm and thoroughly approachable talk, Preventing Injury in Young Musicians, was a wake-up call to those of us whose knowledge of anatomy is not what it could be – our pupils are relying on us to give them good advice – and Paul Harris never fails to give insight, talking to us about Getting the Best out of Pupils. If you can remember the name of their hamster, you are well on your way.

The Summer School had two major elements: the teachings of Paul Rolland and sessions by Mark and Maggie O’Connor. Joanne May and Joanne Erwin shared their knowledge of Rolland’s methods with warmth and humour, showing their understanding of how today’s children work and how this carefully crafted approach can be wholly appropriate and effective for modern learners. They enhanced and clarified the Rolland exercises that I had learnt at college many years ago and gave them a new relevance for me – I have now replenished my stock of toilet rolls and ping-pong balls as well as refreshed my eye for any discomfort or tension. The simple statement ‘a pupil should not look uncomfortable’ is an obvious but excellent place to start. Mark and Maggie O’Connor shared their firm love of American music and their desire to introduce children to this repertoire. We took part in a jam session, an excellent way to encourage children to improvise whilst not feeling exposed, and we were taught ‘chopping’ by Maggie – a bow technique that imitates the percussive sound of the mandolin. It’s going to take me a bit more practise, as was evident in the face of the pupil whose ‘Old Joe Clark’ I subsequently tried to accompany. Back to Maggie’s video I think!

We were treated to a wide diet of evening concerts. As well as a dazzling performance by the O’Connors, we heard from the Artesian Quartet whose performance of Dvorak’s American Quartet was a genuine pleasure, as had been their kind quartet coaching of brave guinea pigs earlier in the day. I learnt something about pizzicato I didn’t know before, but I’m not saying what! Steve Bingham and Murray McLachlan played spellbinding Arvo Pärt and Steve demonstrated his electronic gear in an affecting concert with recitation by Jeremy Harmer. But do you know what the best thing was? All those other teachers out there just like me who want to do their best, share ideas and enthuse their pupils. What a wonderful bunch of people. String teaching in the UK is very much alive and plucking!

Summer School 2019: Richard Barlow

ESTA Summer School Bursary Report 2019

Richard Barlow

I attended this Summer’s ESTA Summer School and I was very fortunate to receive a Nannie Jamieson Nutshell Bursary sponsored by Universal Edition. This provided me with the opportunity to take part in one of the best Summer Schools ever, due to the high quality of all the presenters and tutors as well as a wonderfully diverse range of evening concerts.

Attending the Summer School is always a great way of rejuvenating and recharging the batteries ready for another year of teaching and this year I have certainly come away with a number of concrete ideas and teaching techniques which I know I will be incorporating into my teaching. The Upper Strings Sessions on the Paul Rolland approach to string teaching will have an even more fundamental impact on my teaching, in that I will be totally reconsidering the way I teach beginners, with more emphasis on free movement and establishing good habits which will enable pupils to play with more freedom and without tension. Joanne May was a brilliant and inspiring teacher and we were clearly very lucky to have her and her colleague Joanne Erwin, both established teachers from across the pond.

The daily yoga sessions and a session on injury prevention acted as a great reminder of how important it is that we look after our bodies in relation to playing and that we also pass this on to our pupils so that they are always as comfortable and pain-free as possible.

The sessions had enough space between them to allow for the very important conversations over a coffee, usually reflecting upon what we had just heard, making sense of it and relating it back to our individual teaching contexts. These informal moments are also invaluable as we learn so much from each other.

All the sessions deserve mention for the value that they added. There were big inputs as ever from Steve, starting with playing a variety of music for string orchestra and also including two concerts, very different to each other and brilliantly executed as ever.

An additional bonus was the opportunity to have a meeting with fellow regional officers, where we were able to share our experiences of our role and hopefully help us to grow in those roles.

We are all well aware of how lucky we are to have such great sponsors who support ESTA very generously. Many of us work in environments where we rely on ESTA for our professional development, as budgets are so tight within councils, so ESTA is a vital lifeblood for us. So, a final sincere and impassioned thank you to Universal Edition and all the sponsors. Your support is really valued and appreciated.

 

Young Grittleton: Saya aged 15

I was able to go to Grittleton this summer, thanks to a bursary from Universal Edition and
JDCMF. I learnt so much about playing with other people, not just in time, but with the same
emotion and breathing. I was studying the first movement of the Schubert cello quintet,
which meant I had lots of melodies with other people. With my coaches and other people in
my group, we experimented with different bow speeds and phrasing, and learnt to follow
each other so we could make it more spontaneous. The tune is beautiful and so wonderful
to play with such a wonderful group.
The coaches were inspirational and all had differing strengths and personalities. This
allowed us to have a well-rounded performance. Unusually at this course we are fortunate
enough to have sight reading sessions with the coaches, allowing us to practise our sight
reading. I improved with my key signatures and rhythm reading. My counting isn't great so
by playing slow movements I practised my subdividing.
One of the most emotional moments of the course was when I was sight reading the Dvorak
American 2nd movement and Mandy, a coach, walked in and started crying because it was
so beautiful. I almost started crying too because it was such wonderful music and I was able
to share this moment with my best friends. I will never forget that sight-read and whenever
I hear the piece it brings me back to that moment, that piece, that room, Grittleton.
As one of the older and more experienced members of the course, I learnt leadership skills
too, especially in string orchestra. If I sat next to someone who hadn't done much orchestral
music before, I would lead them and tell them what bow stroke to use, if they hadn't
followed what the leader was doing. We played a Mozart symphony and it was interesting
because we worked in lots of detail on the dynamics and phrasing.
I am so grateful for everyone who has made this course possible for me, Universal Edition
and JDCMF for financial support, my teacher for opening my eyes to classical music, and my
parents for always supporting me.
Saya (15)

Priory Farm Music Camp: Eva aged 10

Thanks to Universal Edition I was able to go to Priory Farm Music Camp this summer. It was the first
time I was away from home on my own, not knowing anybody else, for a whole week! I soon met a lot of
friends because we were living in tents and had a lot of time in the evenings to talk. A typical day at
Priory Farm was quite busy.
We had breakfast at 8.45 followed by the percussion group. We were all, 42 children, practising rhythms
in few different groups at the same time. It was challenging at times to remember all different rhythms
because at the final concert we all played simultaneously.
After that we all went to our chamber groups ensembles. There were a few brass groups, a woodwind
group, a harp and a piano. I was in one of the string groups. There were four people including me
playing violin and our teacher Megan played the cello. I was the only one in our group working towards
grade 3 the others had already passed it so it was quite a high standard for me to work towards. We
were working on Vivaldi"s 'Spring' from 'Four Seasons'. We only had six days of practice together before
we played for our parents in the final concert. Even my Granny came!
During our day, after the break, we had choir practice where we practised harmonies. Our teacher used
a system called Sol-Fa where we used hand signs to help us. One of the pieces we practised was 'Going
Home'; from Dvorak's New World Symphony.
After the choir we all played together in an orchestra. It was a very exciting and interesting experience
because until then I only ever played in a string group and with my teacher playing piano. In the final
concert we managed to play 'Summer stomp'; and 'Sateenkaari' which is a traditional Finnish song (it
means rainbow). It was challenging as our group had children from 6 to 12 years of age.
Priory Farm Music Camp was absolutely amazing! It was a fantastic opportunity to expand my musical
abilities, there is so much more to music than just half an hour lesson in my Primary School every week. I
would like to thank Universal Edition so much for their generous help and making it possible for me to
take part.
Eva (10)

Young Grittleton: Saya aged 15

Thank you so much to Universal Edition. I had such a wonderful time at Grittleton. As well as the fun orchestral pieces, I played Schubert's cello quintet which is one of my favourite piece of chamber music. It was such a great experience and I have definitely improved as a chamber musician. Thank you so much.
Saya (15)