Minor Maestros: Students participate in summer chamber music workshops

Instead of spending her summer vacation on the couch in front of the TV, 15-year-old Alyssa Leston of DeKalb has been practicing between five and six hours a day on her violin.

Leston was one of 29 students from the Chicago area who participated in last week’s summer chamber music workshops put on by Northern Illinois University Community School of the Arts. The students in the workshops ranged in age from 10 to 19.

On June 30, the workshops concluded with a master class taught by international concert violinist Rachel Barton Pine. After the master class, students celebrated with a pizza party and evening recital in NIU’s concert hall.

This was Leston’s third year participating in the workshops. She said she enjoys learning how to communicate and working together in a small group to create music.

“The workshops have taught me leadership qualities and ways to improve my ability,” Leston said. “Playing chamber music is different than playing in an orchestra. There’s no conductor. We all take turns leading by taking signals from each other.”

The workshops were started in 2005 by Laurie Rodriguez, a private violin teacher at NIU. She also has held workshops in Utah and Minnesota. Other workshop coaches included Nissa Sampson and Rodriguez’s husband, Josh.

“Our hope is that the students find chamber music exciting to play and that they grow as musicians,” Rodriguez said. “We want them to have ownership over their playing and for them to make the music come alive. They also learn how to collaborate with each other as they grow in their skills.”

Auditions for the workshops were held May 9 and 29 students were accepted into the program. Rodriguez selected and arranged music pieces by Debussy, Dvorak, Haydn and Mozart and divided the students into groups based on their level and experience. Each student was placed in two different types of string groups, which included duets, quartets and quintets.

“Every year, I choose different music based on the students in the workshop,” Rodriguez said. “I match the students and groups to different pieces, so every group has their own energy, excitement and variety. Splitting them each into two groups allows more friendships to develop. They take turns leading and following while working together.”

Students were given their musical scores a week in advance to practice and familiarize themselves with the music before they met together for the first time for a sight-reading party on June 21.

The workshops were June 27 through 29. Each day of the workshop, the junior class met for an hour and a half, the junior honors class met for two and a half hours and the advanced class met for four hours. In addition to rehearsing, workshop activities also included seminars on music theory, history and rehearsal techniques.

At the end of each day, students were given sections to practice and improve for the next day – similar to a homework assignment.

Sophie Kennedy of Somonauk, 15, has been playing the violin for 10 years and was a member of the advanced workshop. She said that during the program, she practiced more than five hours a day.

“The workshops are really intense, rehearsing four hours together and then returning home and practicing another hour or two,” Kennedy said. “I usually practice an hour a day, but it’s different when you’re working together. It’s a unique music experience, seeing how our different parts and instruments click together.”

On the last day of the workshop the students participated in a master class with Rachel Barton Pine, a world-renowned violinist. She debuted with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 10 and was the first American and youngest gold medal winner of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition.

“I really appreciate the chance to meet and work with Rachel Barton Pine,” Kennedy said. “I have a couple of her CDs, and I attended a concert she performed here at NIU. It’s surreal for her to be giving us advice. It’s a pretty amazing opportunity.”

Violist Matthew Cleveland, 14, of Sycamore, said the music he learned to play during the workshops was challenging at first but doable after practicing with his groups.

Twelve-year-old violinist Reilly Farrell, a member of a quintet with Cleveland, said he was excited and grateful to play and work together with not only Rachel Barton Pine, but also his friends.

“It’s one thing being able to sit at home and watch Rachel Barton Pine on YouTube on a screen, but now I can interact, respond with her and even call her ‘Rachel,’” Farrell said. “I’ve been playing the violin for eight years, and the workshops fine-tune and build on what you already know to make you better. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s also a lot of fun.”