Working in Harmony: Chamber Music at the Conference

Working in Harmony
Chamber Music at the Conference

The Quint-Essentials and Brian Lewis in the chamber group master class at the 2012 conference

Brian Lewis with the Quint-Essentials

Image by Susan Baer

Chamber music at this year’s conference consisted of two groups, a harp duo, The Timpanogos Duo, and a string quintet, The Quint-Essentials. Both groups were highly polished and poised. They rehearsed on their own, had classes with members of the conference team, and then played in master classes for a master teacher.

Caroline Richards and Savannah Smith make up The Timpanogos Duo, hailing from Utah (near Mount Timpanogos). In a master class with harpist Karen Gottlieb, the duo performed Bernard Andres’ La Ragazza, a vibrant work that was received with great interest by the masterclass audience. The piece utilizes a number of unusual special effects, and Ms. Gottlieb worked with the duo to explore the most effective way to create those sounds, resulting in lively discussion amongst teacher, players, and audience members. She also highlighted ways to improve the balance and tighten ensemble. Especially in her discussion of technique, Ms. Gottlieb used brief playing demonstrations to excellent effect in conveying her teaching points. The duo did a great job of experimenting with new ideas on the spot. The class was informative and engaging to both the performers and the audience!

The Quint-Essentials, from Waco, Texas, include Haeun Moon and Augusta Schubert on violin, Hannah Burnett on viola, and Hayoung Moon and Wilson Burnett on cello. They presented the third movement of Schubert’s double cello quintet in C major, Scherzo. Presto – Trio. Andante sostenuto. The Quint-Essentials had two classes with Carlynn Savot and Jessica Meyer early in the weekend, which focused primarily on refining ensemble playing and going more in depth in character development. On Sunday morning, the quintet performed in a master class for Brian Lewis. In the master class, Mr. Lewis discussed Schubert’s dynamic range in the movement, which extends from ppp to fff, and he expanded on how to realize that range as an ensemble. In addition to simply thinking loud and soft, he encouraged them to think of relative dynamics, creating a noticeable difference between piano and pianississimo. He also discussed the importance of presenting a specific character idea in piano (for example, remembering something far away), which allows the section to sound soft but not scared. The students reacted very well to Mr. Lewis’s suggestions, applying what he was suggesting immediately and enjoying the process.

Special thanks go out to the two outstanding performing groups, along with their parents and teachers, and especially to the fantastic clinicians who made the conference weekend such a rewarding event for all who attended!

A dedicated teacher of violin and chamber music, Jessica Meyer Foskitt is committed to enriching her students’ lives through music. Mrs. Foskitt has completed extensive training in Suzuki Pedagogy culminating in her long-term training with Teri Einfeldt at the Hartt School. She currently teaches at the Hartt Commuinty Division where she coached the string trio awarded first prize in the 2011 Rayburn Chamber Music Competition. In addition to teaching at Hartt, Mrs. Foskitt also teaches at Bay Path University, and Westfield State University. Other teaching experience includes several summer Suzuki institutes and workshops across the country. Mrs. Foskitt performs with the Hartford and Springfield symphony orchestras and Infinitango, a Hartford based Tango ensemble. Mrs. Foskitt received her MM from the University of Hartford in violin performance.

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Carlynn Savot, cellist, teaches and performs in the Twin Cities, where she is on faculty at St. Joseph’s School of Music in St. Paul, the MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis, and Concordia University – St. Paul. She performs with The Bishop String Quartet and Strains New Music Ensemble and has presented a number of contemporary works in collaboration with their composers, including the commissioned piece Built on Gravel by Ruby Fulton (supported by the Zachs Endowment Fund). Dr. Savot holds performance degrees from St. Olaf College, the University of Hartford, and the University of Connecticut, where her doctoral studies emphasized the work of women composers and gender perspectives in musical analysis.

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