Classes & Seminars : Study 2013
The School of the Eastern Music Festival offers optional classroom instruction in several areas related to the performance and business of music that completes our rigorous program. Our classes and seminars give students an opportunity to converse with faculty about issues that every musician encounters throughout a professional career. Open dialogue and honest advice enhance students' experiential learning.
Seminars
Seminars are 1½ hour-long, faculty-led sessions offered to students throughout the festival. These informal discussions allow students to learn from faculty experience and to dialogue about important issues of the profession. In past years, topics included Mock Auditions, Leading a String Section, Chamber Ensemble Rehearsal Techniques, Injury Prevention, Conducting, and Life as a Musician.
Body Moveable
A certified Alexander Technique instructor offers weekly classes for students, helping enhance instrumental performance by improving freedom of movement, balance, flexibility, and coordination. The fee for this course is $185, which includes three group sessions and four 30-minute private lessons. Students may schedule private Alexander Technique lessons outside of the class for $60 per hour; these private lessons are available to all students, whether or not they are enrolled in the class. This class is highly recommended for all students.
Weekly Classes
Classes consist of three or four 1½ hour sessions throughout the Festival (as the performance and rehearsal schedule permits). Class subjects rotate each summer and may include music theory, music history, efficient movement of the body while playing your instrument, breath management (for brass and woodwinds), how to create a career in music performance, and more.
Secondary Instrument Lessons
In addition to an academic class, students may elect to take lessons on a secondary instrument during the Festival for an additional fee. All students wishing to do so must audition for the faculty of their secondary instrument at the beginning of the Festival for teacher assignment.