Annual String Experience for high school students on Nov. 17

The SUNY Fredonia School of Music's annual String Experience is slated for Sunday, Nov. 17.

String Experience is a seminar for high school violinists, violists, cellists and bassists that brings young musicians in contact with Fredonia’s conservatory-trained string faculty, including Dr. David Colwell and Maureen Yuen (violin), David Rose (viola), Dr. Erin Ellis (cello), Dr. Harry Jacobson (bass), and Dr. David Rudge (Director of Orchestras). Registration includes a full day of activities and lunch on campus, and the early registration deadline is Oct. 31. Registration details are online at www.fredonia.edu/music/community/string

The String Experience exemplifies the unique one-on-one relationship that is fostered between students and teachers at Fredonia. Young musicians will be given the chance to improve performance and practice techniques, interact with other string players, and attend a recital with our distinguished faculty artists. String players will work in small sessions, developing performance skills, working on issues of stage fright and the audition process, improving technical skills such as shifting, intonation, tone production, and more. The atmosphere is designed to be a fun, supportive learning environment for students, but teachers and parents are also encouraged to attend (parents and teachers are invited to attend at no charge).

"The String Experience is a wonderful opportunity to be inspired by the faculty from the School of Music and our guest artists, as well as hearing the playing accomplishments of some of your peers in the masterclasses," said Dr. Jacobson. " It is a great day of immersion in music."

A highlight of this year's event will be a session on string techniques and a reading session with special guest Dr. Michael Klinghoffer. Dr. Klinghoffer, a double bass performer, conductor and educator, studied under Gary Karr at Yale University, where he received his Master of Music degree and at the Hartt School University of Hartford, where he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. He has been assistant principal bass player in the Israel Symphony Orchestra and in the Israel Sinfonietta. Currently, he performs solo concerts, recitals and chamber music and conducts master classes in Israel and abroad. His repertoire ranges from contemporary Israel music (much of it composed for him), to his own arrangements for double bass, which have been published in the U.S. and in Europe and recorded on two compact discs. He has published articles on music education and on pedagogy in Israel professional periodicals as well as in the U.S. "Music Education in Institutions of Non Formal Education" was published by MATAN in collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Education. Since 1987, he has been on the faculty of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, conducting orchestras, teaching the double bass and other subjects. He was the Head of the String Department, the Dean of Students and he is currently serving as the Dean of Performing Arts and is the Director of the Jerusalem Conservatory Chamber Orchestra.

There will also be workshops in free improvisation, and a chamber music reading and coaching session earlier in the afternoon. Concerts will feature Fredonia's distinguished faculty members performing an interesting array of chamber works with special guest soloists, including Dr. Klinghoffer, Fredonia string students and alumni.