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30 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday August 15, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Students learn musical, personal skills at summer chamber music institute Continued from page 29 Evenings are filled with concerts by faculty, lectures and masterclasses. Weekends are no exception, with scheduling continuing the same as weekdays. Students are divided into ensembles in advance of coming to the institute based on their performance levels. Repertoire is also selected ahead of time and mailed to students, with works by composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Dvorak, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. It is a wonderful two weeks of music making, according to Michael Schulte, a Torontobased violinist. He started as an instructor with the institute in 1993 and has returned every year since. "Musicians learn all kinds of interesting skills here they might not get elsewhere," said Schulte, who is conducting this year's chamber orchestra. "They need independence of thought when playing chamber music. They have their own line and they have to learn to shape phrases independently." Schulte said that while students grow musically during the week, they also mature socially. "This institute teaches life skills," he said. "For chamber music, you have to negotiate with other players on a verbal level, which is a real challenge. They learn team playing skills, knowledge of how to clean the slate after interpersonal difficulties, and how to calm down after a blowout. These translate to the real world." Another attractive aspect of the institute is its composer-in-residence program. Each year, one composer is invited to write a piece for the students and work with the youth during the two-week session. This year's composer is Abigail Richardson, an affiliate composer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. She has gone the additional mile by not only writing a youth-friendly piece for chamber orchestra, but also leaving it up to the students to label it. Currently, the working title is You Name It until its official title is revealed at the Saturday, Aug. 16 concert. "One way to get kids involved is to name it, so they can come up with the title after playing the piece," Richardson said. "Titles are imposed on students for music, so this opens their mind to the piece and what they think it is about." Richardson says she is a contemporary composer who is trying to get musicians to think outside of the box. She spent the two weeks opening students' minds by bringing in world instruments, as well as ones she created herself, like the oven rack harp and turkey baster flute. Her piece, You Name It, breaks traditional chamber orchestra boundaries by getting students to sing while they play, as well as use their instruments in creative ways. "I wanted to write a piece that was creative and got kids doing something strange with their instruments," said Richardson. "The piece calls for them to do some improvisation, with things like glissandos sliding down and playing at their own speed." As husband and wife, Richardson and Schulte have a great working relationship, they say. Richardson adds that her partner always knows what she means to say musically. "When Michael conducts my music, I never say a word about interpretation, he knows it inside out without me saying anything, which is rare," she said. "Usually, I have comments and instructions for conductors, but Michael just gets it immediately." Schulte sheepishly agrees. "I know Abby, and how she thinks and feels about music and how she writes, so I have an advantage," he said. The opportunity to work with Richardson is what attracted 17-year-old Annie ForemanMackey to the institute. The Kingston-based violinist had the chance to meet the composer at a workshop held recently in Toronto. "It is nice she is here because then you can know exactly what she wants you to play at certain parts of the piece," Foreman-Mackey said. "Usually, I play pieces by composers who are dead, so it is neat to have the composer here so you know what to do. It is a very neat piece." The 20th Anniversary Celebration Homecoming Gala and Concert will be held Saturday, Aug. 16 at Willis Hall at Appleby College, 540 Lakeshore Rd. W. at 8 p.m. The Southern Ontario Chamber Music Institute Student Showcase runs Sunday, Aug. 17 at 2 p.m. at Willis Hall at Appleby College. Tickets cost $10 to $30 per concert. For tickets or information, call the Oakville Centre box office at 905-815-2021. For information on the institute, go online to www.socmi.org. Ignite your inner self with a new perspective in personal and home fashion at Exquisite new arrivals Awesome sale items still available while quantities last clothing · interiors 126 Trafalgar Road, Downtown Oakville 905.815.0561 www.hermasinteriors.ca