The course includes
Workshops on:
- Orchestral excerpts
- Sight reading
- Audition and competition preparation
- Chamber music job auditions
Seminars on:
- Performance mindset
- CV writing
- Audition and trial processes around the globe
- Instrument set up
- Performance related injuries.
The course in detail
We welcome music students, professional musicians and teachers to come and learn in this unique intensive environment with 5 of the world’s greatest orchestral and chamber musicians including Gary Levinson, senior associate principal concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, soloist and chamber musician, Rachel Roberts, ex principal of the Philharmonia Orchestra and international chamber musician, Robert Demaine, principal cello of the LA Philharmonic Orchestra, soloist, chamber musician and composer and Helena Wood, ex concertmaster of the RTE Symphony Orchestra and guest international concertmaster .
Focussing on preparing for auditions, competitions and exams, the course will include individual lessons and masterclasses on audition repertoire, competition and exam preparation, the different audition techniques required for different countries, sight reading and orchestral excerpts.
The range of tutors from such differing parts of the globe will give the participants great insight into the multitude of audition and trial techniques required in various parts of the world.
The faculty, having sat on many audition and competition panels in their long established careers will give guidance to the participants on how to best prepare their repertoire, audition material and perform in the required styles as well as give insight into life as chamber musicians and orchestral techniques needed as principals and tutti orchestral players.
Performers work in a highly competitive environment where the margins between success and failure are often very small. This course provides an opportunity to work closely with some of the finest Concert Masters and section Principals in the world. It is a unique chance to explore the nuances of the different audition processes, trial & probation etiquette and an opportunity to showcase your playing. Discussion groups will focus on performance anxiety, instrument set up, behaviour in the workplace, job requirements, contract advice and starting out and changing jobs in the highly competitive classical music business.
The course is co-hosted by ESTA – the European String Teacher’s Association and Musical Orbit, the UK’s online music service linking up music students and professional musicians across the globe. Founder Nicole Wilson, ex LSO first violinist, ex principal violinist at ENO, session fixer, professor at the Royal Academy of Music and BBC radio presenter will be hosting discussion groups and online content to help the participants prepare thoroughly for auditions, exams, interviews and to enable them succeed in top level careers in the music industry.
Rachel Roberts - viola
Rachel Roberts performs as soloist and chamber musician in the world’s leading venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Toppan Hall, Japan; Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Musikverein in Vienna and the Philharmonie in Berlin. Prizes for her chamber music recordings include the Diapason D’or, BBC ‚Chamber Choice’ in Gramophone Magazine, the „Supersonic Award’ of Pizzicato magazine, Luxembourg, and ‚CD of the month’ in Fonoforum Magazine, Germany, and appears frequently at international festivals such as Heimbach in Germany, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Wiener Festwoche and Salzburg Music Festival. She has appeared as violist with the Tetzlaff String Quartet, the Dante String Quartet, the Fitzwilliam String Quartet and the Nash Ensemble.
Highlights of this season include performances and a recording of Schubert’s C Major String Quintet for Chandos with Christian Tetzlaff, Florian Donderer, Tania Tetzlaff and Marie Elizabeth Heckel.
Rachel Roberts released her second solo CD with pianist Lars Vogt in November 2016 to critical acclaim.
As a Professor of Viola at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama since 2009, Rachel frequently gives viola masterclasses across Europe, Scandinavia, Asia and the U.K. She holds the Professional Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher and Professional Education, and became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014.
Robert deMaine - Cello
Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Robert deMaine is a highly sought-after solo artist and chamber musician, he is a frequent guest artist at many of the world’s premier chamber music festivals, including those of Marlboro, Seattle, Great Lakes, Limoges, Heidelberg Schlossfest, Chamberfest Cleveland, Montréal, Seoul’s Ditto Festival, and most recently featured as a soloist at the 2016 Piatigorsky Cello Festival.
As a soloist, he performs the great works of the repertoire both old and new from concertos by Haydn, Dvorak, Elgar and Penderecki, as well as more recent works by John Williams and Christopher Theofanidis.
DeMaine has appeared on the stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Teatro Colón, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, and Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, Auditorium du Louvre, Suntory Hall and the Seoul Arts Center, as well as the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center and Conservatory and London’s Wigmore Hall, among others. He is the recipient of a career grant from the Helen M. Saunders Foundation, and the gift of a Vuillaume cello from the Cecilia Benner Foundation.
Robert has taught masterclasses at major conservatories worldwide, and is on the faculties of The Colburn School and Music Academy of the West.
A first prize winner in many national and international competitions, deMaine was the first cellist ever to win the grand prize at San Francisco’s prestigious Irving M. Klein International Competition for Strings.
As a soloist, he has collaborated with many of the world’s most distinguished conductors and has performed nearly all the major cello concertos with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he served as principal cello for over a decade. DeMaine has also served as guest Principal Cellist of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony, and the Bergen Philharmonic in Norway.
A founding member of the Ehnes Quartet in 2010, he also performs in a piano trio with violinist Hilary Hahn and pianist Natalie Zhu.
Robert deMaine is an exclusive Thomastik-Infeld artist, and performs on a cello made in 1684 by Antonio Stradivari, the “General Kyd, ex-Leo Stern.”
Read more about Robert here here
Gary Levinson - Violin
Gary Levinson enjoys a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician and a pedagogue. In 2013 he accepted the prestigious post of Artistic Director of the Chamber Music Society of Fort Worth. Praised for his intense musicality and adroit technique by American and European critics, he has served as the Senior Principal Associate Concertmaster of the Dallas Symphony since 2002. He was chosen by Zubin Mehta to join the New York Philharmonic before the completion of his undergraduate degree from the Juilliard School in 1988. Mr. Levinson then made his New York Philharmonic solo debut in 1991, under the baton of Erich Leinsdorf.
Winner of the top prize at the 1986 Romano Romanini International Violin Competition in Brescia, Italy, Gary also became the top American Prize winner at the 1987 Jacques Thibaud International Violin Competition in Paris, France.
As a soloist, Mr. Levinson has collaborated with Erich Leinsdorf, Jaap van Zweden, Raffaele Ponti and others. Much sought-after as a chamber musician, Mr. Levinson has collaborated with Yo-Yo Ma, Lynn Harrell, Eugenia Zukerman, Lukas Foss, Joseph Kalichstein, Christopher O’Riley and Adam Neiman. Along with Daredjan Kakouberi and Jesus Castro-Balbi, they perform as Petrus Trio internationally.
In 1998, Mr. Levinson was appointed as the first violinist of the Elysium String Quartet, with which he performed on their regular Weill Hall Series at Carnegie Hall.
A champion of contemporary music, Mr. Levinson has recorded the Margaret Brouwer Violin Concerto under the baton of 2012 Musical America’s Conductor of the Year, Jaap van Zweden in 2012 and has premiered and recorded several works dedicated to him by award winning Iranian composer, Behzad Ranjbaran.
In 1996 he, along with his father, renowned double bassist Eugene Levinson, recorded the world premiere for CALA Records of Dances of Life, a bass and violin duo, written for and dedicated to the Levinsons.
Mr. Levinson also collaborated with New York Philharmonic Principal English Hornist Thomas Stacy in a CD for CALA’s New York Legends series.
Mr. Levinson performs on an Antonio Stradivari violin, crafted in 1726. It is graciously made available for his use by the Dallas Symphony Association.
Read more about Gary here here
Helena Wood - Violin
As one of the finest violinists of her generation Helena Wood is in great demand as a soloist, chamber musician, concertmaster and director. For five years she was concertmaster of the RTE National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin before moving on to freelance as a guest leader. Orchestras that she has most recently been leading include The Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Spanish National Orchestra.
Helena began playing the violin at the age of three. She attended the Royal College of Music in London as a scholar from the age of 8 studying under Professor Pamela Spofforth and Professor Itzhak Rashkovsky and graduated in 2001 with a first class Honours degree. Helena later studied in New York with Professor Joey Corpus.
Making her debut as a soloist at the age of twelve with the Mendelssohn concerto, Helena has been received with great acclaim as a soloist and chamber musician. She has performed chamber music with musicians such as John Lill, Freddy Kempf, Finghin Collins and Nigel Kennedy and her international tours as a soloist include concerts in Israel, Romania, France, Switzerland and Germany, as well as tours of Italy and Spain. Helena has given numerous recitals at the Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room and the Royal Festival Hall and has performed many concertos at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Barbican Hall and St Martin-in-the-Fields. As a soloist Helena has performed with such orchestras as the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and English Sinfonia and frequently appears as a soloist on live television and radio in the UK and Ireland.
Dr. Daredjan Baya Kakouberi - Chamber Coach and accompanist
Dr.Daredjan Baya Kakouberi, pianist, hailed as a “treat to watch and hear”, was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and made her debut at the age of eleven. After graduating from Tbilisi Special School of Music for the Talented and Gifted, she entered the Moscow Conservatory, where she continued her studies on the Master’s and Doctoral levels under the tutelage of professor Sergei Dorenski, and Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medalist, Vladimir Krainev.
Her engagements have included the Strings Music Festival, Steamboat Springs, CO, Nancyphiles Festival in Nancy, France and a solo recital at the request of the San Antonio International Piano Competition. Ms. Kakouberi is an annual artist at the Musical Bridges Around the World series in San Antonio, TX, where she was a key participant in the city’s all-inclusive Brahms and Beethoven Festival.
Business Leader magazine selected Ms. Kakouberi for the Woman Extraordinaire award in 2012. This honor exemplifies women who “demonstrated significant business achievement and community involvement” in their given field. In March 2010, Dr. Kakouberi was honored as the recipient of the coveted International Ambassador for Cultural Exchange Award. Awarded by the Russian Winter Festival at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, this award recognizes outstanding achievement in performing and teaching disciplines domestically and abroad. In 2009, Ms. Kakouberi was engaged to tour China a soloist. Due to her much sought after teaching skills, she is also rounding out the cultural event by presenting master classes in the leading conservatories in Mainland China.
In an unprecedented project in the spring of 2009, Ms. Kakouberi has recorded the three books of the Russian Piano Technique, based on the teachings of Professor Nikolaev, to be used in practice and performance techniques for students of all levels.
In 2009, she collaborated with violinist Gary Levinson in the recording of the complete sonatas for piano and violin by Beethoven. The project was spearheaded by the Classical Music Recording Foundation. The four CD set was released n 2012. Ms. Kakouberi has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in Moscow, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Italy and the United States.
In 1996, she was among the “World’s Ten Most Distinguished Pianists” chosen by the Palm Beach Invitational Piano Competition. In the summer of 2000, Ms. Kakouberi was chosen as recipient of the “Most Outstanding and Distinguished Pianist” award in the IBLA International Competition in Italy. In addition to her solo recitals, she has appeared as guest soloist in concerts throughout the US and Europe, including performances at Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, Steinway Hall in New York, and the Cerritos Center for Performing Arts in California.
As a chamber performer Ms. Kakouberi made her debut at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall in New York in February 2002. Ms. Kakouberi returned to that venue in a scheduled appearance on the CMRF annual gala concert in the fall of 2011 at Weill Hall.
Noted as an outstanding chamber music artist, Ms. Kakouberi is the Artistic Director of the Blue Candlelight Music Series in Dallas, Texas, where she enjoys collaboration with internationally renowned artists. She has appeared multiple times at the Music in the Mountains Festival in Durango, CO, where she was also a frequent soloist. She is a household name at the major venues in North Texas, such as the University of North Texas in Denton, TX, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Eisemann Center for the Performing Arts where she has appeared as a concerto soloist.
