RSVP for Summer Chamber Music Workshop

press release: Join Madison Bach Musicians for our 7th Annual Summer Chamber Music Workshop, July 26 – 30, 2021.

Online classes with expert faculty from Madison, New York, and Chicago; in-person ensemble coaching at West Middleton Lutheran Church.

For our live online classes, MBM is thrilled to have renowned Baroque violinist and scholar Nancy Wilson join us from NYC as guest faculty this summer.  Ms. Wilson teaches at Mannes College and Princeton University. Tuesday through Friday at 7 PM, she will present a four-part course on four of Bach’s cantatas including how they were originally presented and perceived with insight into performing Bach today.  Jason Moy, who left attendees asking for more during our workshop last summer, will return to teach a four-part course on Baroque Ornamentation Tuesday through Friday at noon. In addition, Trevor Stephenson will present a lecture-demonstration on Tuning, Intonation and Temperament on Monday at 7:30 PM, live for those attending our opening event and via livestream for those at home.

Lisette Kielson will return to coach two wind-only ensembles open to recorders, flutes and oboes. Participants may choose between an upper-intermediate to advanced level “Wind Ensemble A” and a lower-intermediate to intermediate level “Wind Ensemble B.” Wind ensemble coachings will take place in the mornings, Tuesday through Friday.  The ensembles are limited to 10 participants per group. (Also, we have now added the option to participate in smaller mixed string and wind ensembles in the afternoon. Please contact us directly if you are interested at: madisonbachmusicians.manager@gmail.com.)

String and keyboard ensembles will receive coaching from Kangwon Kim, Martha Vallon, and Trevor Stephenson in the afternoon for an hour on each day Tuesday through Friday.  At the end of each day, Kangwon Kim will lead a large group string ensemble for one hour.  This group will play orchestral excerpts by Purcell, Bach, Telemann, Vivaldi or Corelli depending on the number of participants. Practice space in smaller rooms at West Middleton Lutheran Church will be available upon request.

The workshop will open Monday evening at West Middleton Lutheran Church with a pizza party social at 6 PM, and we will celebrate the close of the workshop with a performance or recording project on Friday.

Please use the tabs below for signup and payment. If you would like to join the ensembles, please fill out the registration and pay using the payment tab at the time of registration. If you would like to take online classes only, sign up and pay using the payment tab; the registration step is not required.

Registration for ensembles

payment for ensembles and classes

Online Class Descriptions

Introduction to Baroque Ornamentation with Jason Moy – Four classes at noon, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, July 27 – 30

In this four-day class, we will examine the fundamentals of Ornamentation, looking to historical sources whenever possible to help further our understanding of this important aspect of Baroque Performance Practice. On the first two days, we will learn how to execute trills and other notated ornaments, when and where to add ornaments not already specified in the music, and the art of free ornamentation— embellishing melodic lines in repeated sections or slow movements of pieces. On the last two days, we will ornament excerpts of actual Baroque repertoire together as a class, and invite volunteer performers to help bring these musical examples to life.

Bach Cantatas with Nancy Wilson – Four classes at 7 PM Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, July 27-30

In this course we will journey in time to Leipzig 1723-32 and sit in on four services at the Thomaskirche, where we will hear four glorious cantatas by J. S. Bach. Our souls moved and our curiousity sparked, we’ll discuss– How are we moved?  What was Bach’s musical language and how did he want to move us? How did he use harmony, both modal and major-minor? What was his compositional process?  What did our fellow churchgoers experience? What musicians did Bach have on hand and how did he use them?  What was the librettist trying to say?  What do these cantatas tell us about our own performances of Bach, both instrumental and vocal? We will all leave wanting to hear more Bach!

For each class you will receive a score, translation and readings in advance.

Tuning, Intonation, and Temperament with Trevor Stephenson – 7:30 PM Monday, July 26

In this presentation on the relationship between intonation and expression, Trevor will demonstrate at the harpsichord how intervals are tuned in their pure and in their tempered forms. Then, through examples from 18^th-century masterworks by Bach, Handel, and Corelli, he’ll show how various Baroque approaches to intonation dramatically affect the outcome of musical performance.

Registration

Registration for the in-person ensembles is due by May 31.  (The registration step is not necessary for classes.) We encourage ensembles to apply as pre-formed groups. Also, ensembles consisting of individual applicants will be formed on a first-come, first-served basis until our capacity is reached. You do not need to send in a recording if you have participated in our workshop in the past or if you have the director’s permission.  Registration for online classes will remain open until July 26. We will apply a 10% discount on the total when you register for more than one offering. Payment is due at the time of registration.

Tuition

Chamber Music Coaching – $130 per person for four days of coaching in the afternoons

String Large Group Ensemble – $70 per person for four days in the afternoons

Wind Ensemble – $70 per person for four days in the mornings

Four online classes – $100

One online class – $30

Private lessons – $50/45 minutes with the faculty member of your choice (online lesson unless arranged with the teacher)

Health Precautions

We want to ensure that our participants are fully protected from COVID-19 infection and will confirm in advance that they are comfortable with their ensembles. All of our faculty will be fully vaccinated by the time of the workshop. Ensemble coaching will occur in the large spaces of the Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall. Participants may be required to wear masks and maintain social distance in compliance with then-current local health advisories. We request that all wind players be vaccinated.