With much deliberation, we have decided to cancel today's preview performance at Empire Tea and Coffee because of the snow forecast for this evening! Stay safe and warm and we look forward to tomorrow's performance at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum at 2pm.
The wintry weather makes it the perfect time to enjoy some live chamber music in a cosy room. Happily, the Newport String Project can offer just the thing next weekend (February 15th and 16th)!
We are delighted to be joined by wonderful guest artists, Annalisa Boerner, viola and Ariana Falk, cello. (You can read more about Annalisa and Ariana over on our guest artists page.) The program will feature Haydn's quirky String Quartet op 20 no 3 and Borodin's beloved String Quartet No 2.
On Saturday February 15th at 6.30pm, we'll be giving an informal performance at Empire Tea and Coffee on Broadway. One of the best cures for the February doldrums is sipping a hot mug of something delicious and being immersed in string quartets. Admission is free.
There will be another opportunity to hear the Haydn and Borodin on Sunday 16th at 2.00pm in the beautiful and historic Harrison Room of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum. Admission is free for library members and $5 for non-members. We look forward to seeing you there!
We are delighted to be joined by pianist and composer Ben Nacar for this weekend's performance of Brahms and Stravinsky.
Ben Nacar (photo credit - Keith Jochim)
Can you tell us the story of how you began playing the piano? When I was four my father started schooling me. To see how I responded to sounds, he got a tiny electronic keyboard that played just one note at a time. He found that I could distinguish pitches and remember sequences of notes. To make my play and the experiments more complex we got a larger keyboard that could sound multiple notes at a time. This instrument had no piano "action" and no dynamic control so after some time we got an upright piano. Capturing the full range of the piano's tone colors eventually became crucial, so then we got a grand piano. The whole thing was an evolving discovery.
"Reactionary" would be a reasonable assessment of my music. My primary influences are all the great classical composers from Bach to Rachmaninoff, plus a few Broadway and film composers, and some American folk and jazz. You can find score excerpts of my cello sonata and other things I've written at my website (http://www.bennacar.com/).
On the contrary, the more I play them the more different they seem to get. In the Piano Trio I experience Brahms' complete fidelity to Romanticism; it is tinged throughout with melancholy, even in the Scherzo. In the "Suite Italienne," by contrast, Stravinsky is carefree "playing around with" composers from an earlier era, and though he approaches being lyrical at times, he avoids any temptation to introspection and any seizing of self-moments.
As a composer I'm always trying to figure out what other composers were (or are) up to in specific pieces, what compositional choices they had to make or problems they had to solve. And this is one of the first things I tend to think about any time I learn a new piece. Eventually the whole progression of notes from start to finish begins to seem logical and inevitable, so that I'm not so much remembering as recomposing my way through the piece.
You can find Ben's bio on the Guest Artist page.
In a new series of blog posts, we will be featuring lightening round interviews with our guest artists. If any readers are curious about the creative process, inspirations and background of our guest artists, feel free to send us questions! First in the hotseat, is cellist, Lauren Latessa, who will be joining us for a performance of Brahms' Piano Trio No 1 at Emmanuel Church on January 25th.
Lauren Latessa, cello
Can you tell us something about how you started playing the cello?
I started playing when I was six years old. I have a great aunt who is a cellist and my Mom took me to meet her. I didn't know what a cello was, and when it was first described to me, I thought it was a violin! I was completely surprised when I saw how big it was!!!
As a Fellow at Community MusicWorks, you have been immersed in ideas about the connections between music and community - can you tell us about any surprising discoveries on your journey?
I think all of us who have gone through the CMW fellowship are struck at one time or another by the remarkable way in which CMW's music creates so many different layers of community. I think last year's ArtPlace concert, when Emmy and her parents band played, embodies this the best. People of drastically different ages, ethnicity and socio-economic status came together to eat, dance and listen to the music!
You're playing a lot of Brahms' chamber music these days! (You can hear Lauren perform Brahms' G Major Sextet with Community MusicWorks Players at Roger Williams University! More details here...) What's your take on why people fall in love with his music?
Brahms' music is amazing! It's been great to work on the trio and sextet at the same time! I think he pushes people emotionally and I think people crave that kind of engagement in their lives.
If you had to use three words to describe Brahms' Piano Trio in B Major....
Expansive yet surprisingly human.
You can find Lauren's complete bio on our guest artist page.
We are delighted to announce the details of our next concert which takes place at Emmanuel Church in Newport on January 25th at 4pm. This concert features Stravinsky's Suite Italienne and Brahms' Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major. We are thrilled to be joined by Lauren Latessa, cello and Ben Nacar, piano. Admission is by donation and all are welcome!
While I was at home in Ireland visiting family for Christmas, I was fortunate enough to have the chance to visit a world-class bowmaker who happens to live in... Newport, Co. Mayo, Ireland! How's that for serendipity!
It even has an iconic bridge of its own - formerly a railway viaduct...
Alas, the famed Irish drizzly weather did not quite cooperate long enough for us to capture how picturesque it is, but strengthened the resolve to visit again in the summertime!
Today on Giving Tuesday , we hope that you will consider including the Newport String Project as part of your year-end giving. Your donation will support the Newport String Project's mission to make inspiring musical experiences accessible for all in Newport - that means you will be supporting our chamber music concert series, our educational programming and most importantly, you will be supporting a project that is committed to enriching cultural life and deepening community connectedness in Newport.
Concerts...
Joyful learning...
Community...
Happily, all donations are fully tax deductible. Please send donations to the Newport String Project
c/o Community MusicWorks,
1392 Westminster St, Providence, RI 02909
Don't forget - there are many ways to support the work of the Newport String Project! Check out the Support the Project section of our website for more ideas of how to help the project flourish...
Some of you may be wondering how the paper violins are coming along. By the end of our inaugural Paper Violin Workshop, the violins had been assembled and painted - bright and cheerful, but without any of the details.
As the students have been reaching new learning milestones, more details have been added - f-holes, buttons, purfling and fingerboards.
Of course the real fun happens when we use them in class!
In fact, we have to be careful because sometimes...
...it can be too much fun!
*Special thanks to Melanie Puckett for the photos - more can be seen on our flickr account. Additional photo cred to Emmy!
A key feature of the vision for the Newport String Project is to establish a string quartet residency, enabling us to serve more students and offer an expanded concert season. As with our October performances, we were delighted to present another program of string quartets this month - Haydn's op 77 no 1 in G major and Shostakovich's String Quartet No 1.
Haydn - the Big Papa of the String Quartet
A very youthful Shostakovich with a cat
We were delighted to be joined by guest artists Lauren Nelson (viola) and Ariana Falk (cello). Not only did Lauren and Ariana bring their fabulous musicianship to rehearsals, we also had the company of Lauren's two beautiful cats, Jazz and Blue and Ariana's gorgeous black lab puppy, Tessa. And yes, at one point they were indeed all under the same roof! (Very nearly a Musicians-of-Brementown moment...)
Blue gazes adoringly at Lauren
Tessa with the band
On Saturday, we set out our music stands in the intimate, funky performance space of Empire Tea & Coffee. The swirling sounds of Haydn and Shostakovich quartets added to the sensory delights of wafting coffee and freshly baked goods. We were delighted to pique the curiosity of a few bemused coffee enthusiasts and look forward to coaxing a few more listeners into the room with us next time we visit Empire. Many thanks to the staff there for their warm welcome!
Sunday brought us to the Edward King House - a senior center facility housed in the majestic building located just behind the Newport Public Library. The warm and welcoming audience listened attentively and afterwards shared their particular enthusiasm for the sound world of the Shostakovich. Many thanks to all those who attended this weekend's performances - we will soon be revealing details of our next concerts (*gleeful drumming of fingertips*), keep up-to-date on the latest by liking our Facebook page and joining the mailing list!
On Sunday November 17th at 2pm, the second concert of the Newport String Project season will be held at Edward King House in Newport. The program features Haydn String Quartet op 77, no 1 and Shostakovich Quartet no 1. Emmy and Ealaín are delighted to be joined by two wonderful guest artists, Lauren Nelson (viola) and Ariana Falk (cello). Read more about Lauren and Ariana below:
Lauren Nelson
Violist Lauren Nelson believes that music has the power to reach everyone. Growing up in rural New Hampshire, she was a regular participant at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music where she learned how classical music can bring people from all walks of life together, and how specifically chamber music has the power to build communities. Nowadays, she’s building a career that combines performing, teaching and social action to make an impact on her community. A recent graduate of Boston’s New England Conservatory (Graduate Diploma) she is making an impact teaching music to the children of the Haitian community of Hyde Park, MA. Lauren’s performance career takes her through many musical environments, from Boston’s Jordan Hall, to New York’s Whitney Museum with the Wordless Music Ensemble, from Carnegie Hall, and the Kennedy Center to Sculler’s Jazz Club in Cambridge, MA. Most recently she has performed with The Apple Hill String Quartet, Phillip Ying, David Ying, Mark Fewer and Susan Cahill. Lauren is also a regular sub with the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami, FL. She is an active freelancer in and around the Boston area and is starting to get involved with local bands. Lauren’s early influences have manifested themselves in extensive work within the string quartet repertoire. While working on her Master’s Degree at the Music School of the University of Kentucky she was the violist in the Niles String Quartet. With this group she worked with the Juilliard String Quartet at their Intensive Quartet Seminar and studied at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta Canada. Lauren is also a committed educator and arts advocate. She is fully behind the El Sistema movement, and is currently a dedicated teacher at the Youth and Family Enrichment Services after school program in Hyde Park. Here she focuses on musical and personal development through peer-teaching and rigorous lessons and rehearsals. Lauren studied viola with Roger Tapping at the New England Conservatory. She received her Master’s Degree from the University of Kentucky and her Bachelor’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music under the tutelage of Deborah Lander and John Graham, respectively.
Ariana Falk currently serves as Education Director for the Worcester Chamber Music Society and runs the Neighborhood Strings program, which provides free lessons in string instruments to youth from Worcester’s Main South community. She received a degrees from Boston University and the Yale School of Music, where she was recipient of the Aldo Parisot Prize. She also studied English at Yale College. She was a Fulbright Scholar to Germany and now serves as Music Director of the Massachusetts Fulbright Association. She has recently appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Stow Festival Orchestra, Portland’s Columbia Symphony, and the Olympia Symphony. As a chamber musician, she performs with the Burlington Ensemble, and has recently appeared as a guest artist on the Marlboro College and Longy Faculty Artist series and live on WGBH Boston and WVPR. She has performed as a string quartet player at the Juilliard, Great Lakes, and Deer Valley music festivals, performed at other summer festivals including the Norfolk Music Festival and Banff Centre, and served on the string faculty of the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and the Worcester Chamber Music Society Summer Festival. In addition, Ariana has toured with the Grammy Award- nominated Yale Cellos, including performances at Carnegie Hall and in France and England. Ariana’s first chamber music experience was her teenage string quartet, which included her twin brother as the violist (now a physicist). They sounded pretty good and even got on the pilot season of “From the Top,” but they fought like children until they reconciled a decade later. Ariana also enjoys tennis and marathon running and thinks sports and music go together surprisingly well.
There may have been a few raised eyebrows and some amused bewilderment when Emmy and I shared our plan to have Newport String Project students begin lessons with paper violins. “Sounds lovely… but how does it work if they don’t make any sound?”
“Won’t the kids get bored when they could be playing a real instrument?”
“Paper? How in the world…?”
The idea of teaching fundamental violin technique with a cardboard substitute has been around for quite a while. At the tender age of 4, Emmy began her fiddling career with a Crackerjack box – she fondly remembers the victory of getting to eat the (admittedly stale) Crackerjacks once she graduated to a real instrument. In recent years, an El Sistema nucleo in Venezuela called La Riconada developed the first Paper Orchestra. Faced with a shortage of instruments for their young beginners, teachers at La Riconada were inspired to think of a creative solution and so developed a curriculum which turned out to be immensely effective in instilling basic ensemble culture and giving students a grounding in technical basics before even reaching a real instrument. Wildly successful variations on the Paper Orchestra idea have been implemented by YOLA in LA, by Big Noise in Scotland and by JAMM in Alaska, led by the ever inspirational Lorrie Heagy.
So how did this globe-trotting idea work out in Newport you may be wondering?
After many weeks of behind the scenes planning and preparation (which featured a slightly obsessive hunt for suitable cardboard), we hosted a Paper Violin Workshop for all our students and their parents. For several weeks, we had explained to our students that building violins together would be a very special occasion and finally the day arrived! Here we all were - teachers, parents and students! It was clear that the students were thrilled to share the moment with their friends and with their families.
There were many remarkable displays of collaboration and moral support between students and grown-ups and between friends and families that evening.
There were also notable examples of very young students showing great patience and perseverance, lost in states of deep concentration.
The room was a hive of activity as families went through the different stages. Cries of "more tape!", "what did I do with that skinny piece of cardboard?", "I need help over here!" and "what's next?" rang out around the room.
As the flat pieces of cardboard came to life and gradually began to take the shape of a real violin, the real excitement began.
Of course, most of the students were keeping a watchful eye on the ultimate destination - the Painting Room!
"Would you like to paint your violins different colors or brown like a real violin?" I asked two of our Kindergarteners. Without skipping a beat, they declared with pride,
"I'm making a rainbow violin! With all the colors!"
"And mine will be BLUE!"
As the parents filed out of the MLK Community Center that evening, many assured us that they would be returning to finish details and some even admitted that they might have had more fun than their kids.
All we can say for sure is that the Paper Violin workshop was the perfect opening chapter of a wonderful adventure for the students of the Newport String Project.
* Special thanks to Julie Davis, director of the El Sistema program at the Bridge Boston Charter School in Dorcester, for her invaluable advice and guidance. Very special thanks also to Melanie Puckett for her beautiful photography - more of Melanie's pictures can be seen on our Flickr account.
One of the aims of the Newport String Project is to make inspiring musical experiences available for all. One step in that direction is to offer free concerts and last Sunday, we were delighted to perform the first in a series of free chamber music concerts being offered by the Newport String Project this year.
Ideally suited to chamber music, the Hawes Room of Trinity Church has a beautiful acoustic and a welcoming and intimate atmosphere. As we launched into the Cole Porter, surrounded by an enthusiastic and welcoming audience, it was clear this was going to be a very special concert indeed. Once the room had filled to capacity, people began gathering outside at the open windows to check out the concert...
It was especially fitting that this first concert featured music written for string quartet... Currently, the Newport String Project is served by two resident musicians, however, the vision is that the project will soon sustain a full-time string quartet residency. This flagship ensemble would be able to offer an expanded concert season and educational programming.
The concert at Trinity was the culmination of a wonderful week of intensive rehearsing with Jesse and Heath at Avaloch Farm (see earlier post) but also celebrated a new beginning. Both the performance and educational strands of the Newport String Project are now underway, thanks to funders including the Prince Charitable Trusts, the Rhode Island Foundation and NewportFed, as well as all the individual supporters who have made generous contributions to this project.
Our hope is that the Newport String Project will ignite the imagination and enthusiasm of audiences across the island. These are the sparks that can enable the project to flourish.
Now though, it's time for us to start planning our next concert...
In today's hectic and fast-paced world, musicians all too often find themselves faced with needing to craft a performance on very little rehearsal time and with lots of other demands competing for attention. There is, of course, much to be learned from an efficient, snappy, rehearsal and it's always exciting to have a full plate of performance opportunities. Yet, in the midst of hectic rehearsals, there is inevitably a wistful moment of thinking, "If only there was a little more time..." In planning the first concert of our season, we were thrilled when two wonderful members of the Community MusicWorks family - Jesse and Heath - offered to join us. We had settled on a program of Haydn op 20 no 4, a great arrangement of Cole Porter's Begin the Beguine by Evan Price and Beethoven's epic op 127 - we knew we needed to carve out a serious chunk of rehearsal time.
Fortunately, Heath had learned of a beautiful new rehearsal retreat venue in New Hampshire called the Avaloch Farm Music Institute led by director Deb Sherr. Deb is also director at Greenwood where Jesse and Heath first played chamber music together) We were thrilled to be able to reserve a spot for the first week in October.
As we made the drive north to New Hampshire, the foliage gradually deepened in color and by the time we reached the farmlands around Avaloch, it was a riot of reds and golds. We were greeted by Deb who showed us the exquisitely decorated barns and comfortable lodgings. Thanks to Deb's vision and the generosity of founder Alfred Tauber, even in its first year, Avaloch seems to embody an atmosphere of generosity and appreciation for the value of the artistic process.
It was with great relish and abandon that we rehearsed in our studio that first evening and so began a fabulous week of digging into the Beethoven and Haydn. Of course, we would have been remiss in our duties not to take an occasional break to take in the full Avaloch experience...
...Emmy takes a dip in the nearby pond...
...Heath takes it all in from a canoe...
And the decadence didn't stop there. Our rehearsals were punctuated by delicious feasts (3 a day in fact) created by the wonderful Deborah - a true artist! I can personally confirm that the catfish listed on the menu was transcendent! (That became a word-of-the-week...)
One of my favourite experiences of the week was on our last night, when we played through our program for Deb, Deborah, Diane and Dodi, who had taken such wonderful care of us all week.
It is a rare and special opportunity to rehearse in a peaceful setting, where everyone has the mental space to be totally present and focussed on musicmaking and connectedness. Many thanks to Deb Sherr and all the staff at Avaloch!
After months and months of planning, it was a very special moment to receive an email with a list of students who had signed up to join the Newport String Project! It was with immense delight that Emmy and I finally met this illustrious group at the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Community Center in Newport on Monday. In the lead up to the occasion, students at the MLK Center had enjoyed several workshops led by Emmy - an instrument petting zoo (in which several "shy" violins were coaxed out from underneath a blanket) and a fantastic story hour featuring the tale of a farmer's daughter and how she brought her whole community together using a very special talent.
So, as the students for the first official class, their anticipation was palpable! They listened attentively as we explained how we would be starting out with paper violins - learning the names of the different parts of the violin, learning how to make music together as well as how to care for a fragile musical instrument. Eyes lit up as we explained that, in a few months, there would be a special graduation concert where they would show all the songs they had learned and would be presented with their "real" violin.
The questions came thick and fast
"Could I try making a paper violin at home?"
"Is it ok if I make a special suitcase for my paper violin?"
"How long does it take to make a real violin?"
Luckily, there was still time to learn some songs and dances together, as well as time to practice the very important art of "taking a bow".
As parents arrived to pick them up, students bounced over, eager to share what they had learned. Emmy and I, a little tired but blissfully happy, started to pack away our violins when a first grader appeared beside us and presented us with a wonderful souvenir to mark the occasion... It's going to be a great year!
Mark your calendars, friends...
October 6th marks the first concert of the Newport String Project Season!
Newport String Project violinists EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks and Ealaín McMullin will be joined by two terrific guest artists.
Jesse Holstein, senior resident musician at Community MusicWorks, will briefly be surfacing from his sabbatical from CMW to play viola on this concert. (You can read more about Jesse's sabbatical project here.)
Director of the Sistema Fellows Program at New England Conservatory (and long-time mentor to the Newport String Project), Heath Marlow will be playing cello.
The quartet will be performing Haydn's Quartet in D Major op 20 no 4 and Beethoven's truly epic Quartet in E flat major op 127. The quartet will be fresh from a rehearsal retreat at Avaloch Farm - a spectacular new retreat center for chamber ensembles in New Hampshire. More on that soon!
The concert will take place at 4pm on October 6th at Trinity Episcopal Church. Admission is free and all are welcome!
It is our great pleasure to announce that the Newport String Project has received a grant of $25,000 from the Prince Charitable Trusts. In 2011, the Prince Charitable Trusts commissioned a feasibility study from Community MusicWorks that explored what an after-school music education program serving low-income families might look like in Newport, RI. The research was conducted over a six month period by Community MusicWorks Fellows (Ariana Falk, Robin Gilbert, EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks and Ealaín McMullin), during which we met with many leaders in the Newport community who had invaluable insights to share into the landscape of Newport and where the needs might lie.
With the initial momentum gained from that work, the plan for a pilot year for the Newport String Project was developed. We are delighted that the partnership with the Prince Charitable Trusts continues and will provide us with vital support in getting the program off the ground!
The directors are delighted to announce that Newport String Project has been awarded a grant from the Newport County Fund of the The Rhode Island Foundation. http://www.rifoundation.org/News/NewsArticles/tabid/513/ArticleId/214/Newport-County-Fund-awards-187-000-to-28-nonprofits.aspx
The grant will support the launch of the project that aims to build a community that crosses boundaries of generation, heritage, and economic circumstances through access to inspiring musical experiences for all.
The Newport String Project is delighted to have been awarded a donation from the NewportFed Charitable Foundation to support our launch in fall 2013. Many thanks to the foundation for this contribution to support our work in the Newport community.
The Newport String Project (RI) is a music performance and youth mentoring initiative that aims to facilitate inspiring musical experiences for children and their families. Scheduled to begin in fall 2013, the project will initially offer violin and viola lessons to fifteen to twenty-five students in grades 1-3, in Newport’s most economically challenged areas. By partnering with two local community centers, the Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Newport County, the project will engage students most in need during the high-risk after-school hours. The program will feature weekly lessons and rehearsals, monthly workshops and student performances, enabling students to expand their self-concepts as leaders and visions for their futures.
The project aims to strengthen the social and cultural fabric of the wider Newport community by inaugurating a free professional chamber music concert series, featuring both classical and traditional music styles in keeping with Newport’s folk heritage. The pilot year will be focussed on growing the organization so that it can support a long-term professional string quartet residency.
Professional violinists EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks and Ealaín McMullin, will lead the program and serve as the primary resident musicians, teaching all classes and performing with guest artists for students, their families and the wider Newport community.
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