Accompanying

ECMS Student Jahshanti Henry was recently awarded a conducting fellowship with the Louisville Orchestra in Kentucky, an opportunity that was made possible by the Sphinx Organization, a group that strives to transform lives through the power of diversity in the arts. In the course of this week-long program Jahshanti will be working with Music Director Teddy Abrams and LO musicians, participating in rehearsals, and meeting with staff and administrators as well as local Louisville arts leaders.

Jahshanti has been a flute student of Jan Angus at ECMS since the fall of 2011 and is also a conducting student of Rachel Lauber. In his time as a student he has been a member of the Pathways Program and the Krusenstjerna Scholarship Flute Choir, attended the Music Horizons summer program, studied piano, and pursued the High School Honors Diploma among many other accomplishments.

I got to ask Jahshanti some questions about this fellowship as well as his past work with ECMS and plans for his musical future:

Eli: What first made you want to get serious about studying music?

Jahshanti: I wanted to get serious about music as soon as I started playing the flute. I realized that music is an art form that must be cherished, and without music life would be meaningless. 

Eli: You are a member of the Pathways Program, can you tell me how that has shaped your education?

Jahshanti: The Pathways Program is amazing, and I don’t know where I would be without it. It has enabled me to not only progress as an artistic musician, but also as a young man. There are strict rules set in place in order to stay in the program. They include having a good GPA in school, as well as not getting any referrals or detentions. Those rules shaped my behavior and perspective on school for the better. 

Eli: What made you want to branch out from your instrument and try conducting as well?

Jahshanti: I was in the Eastman Music Horizons program in the summer of 2017, and it was the final day before the program came to an end. I was being adventurous and decided to venture from my composition class to the conducting class where I saw my current teacher, Rachel Lauber. With only 1 year of basic conducting thanks to my Dalcroze eurhythmics teacher, Howard Spindler, I tried conducting Dr. Lauber’s string ensemble. That is where I fell in love with displaying my musical ideas and emotions in a new way that wasn’t flute. Working with Dr. Lauber was like no other experience. We connected as soon as we met, and I knew this teacher would forever have a place in my heart. 

Eli: What can you share about the process of connecting with the Sphinx Organization and applying for this fellowship, and when will you be heading to Louisville?

Jahshanti: Dr. Lauber has a strong connection with the people at the Sphinx Organization. She always wanted me to think big and conduct a full orchestra, but the opportunity never came our way until the Louisville Orchestra announced that they were going to partner with Sphinx to make this fellowship program accessible for young conductors across America. I am proud to say that I will be in Louisville from May 6th-12th.

Eli: What comes next in your musical education?

Jahshanti: I am still undecided on where I want to go to college, but you can always hear me playing jazz and staying very involved in the Rochester community!

We can all agree that we will have to keep our eyes on Jahshanti’s promising career whether he ends up leading an orchestra, performing as a flute soloist, gigging in jazz clubs, or all three! Congratulations again and best of luck in Louisville!

Eli Campbell; ECMS Media & Events Coordinator

We’ve had ensembles and classes that fit outside of our usual Classical & Jazz Offerings for a while. These offerings are based around American Folk Music, World Music Ensembles, and some offerings in Popular Styles as well. This diverse group has a lot to offer to our students, and we are hoping to give them a higher profile to make sure that you know about all of the opportunities that are open to you at ECMS!

Ensembles for Everyone:

Brazilian Percussion Ensemble

Gamelan Ensemble

Beginner Mbira Ensemble & Advance Mbira Ensemble

Zimbabwean Marimba Ensemble

String Band

Classes for Middle and High School Students:

Intro to Modern Band

Music Recording & Production

Alexander Technique for High Schoolers

Composition: Film Scoring

Composition: Computer Music

Classes for Adults:

Alexander Technique for Adults

Composition: Film Scoring

Composition: Computer Music

Lessons:

Accordion

Fiddle Lessons

Latin Percussion

Songwriting

You can find all of our course and ensemble offerings in Beyond Classical and Jazz on the category webpage on our website here!

Have any ideas about a community music program or offering that would fit in this category? Let us know what you are thinking of by emailing ecampbell@esm.rochester.edu so that we can consider how we can grow to serve our community better!

Written by Mary Robey, Instrumental Music Teacher at Children’s School of Rochester

The partnership between Eastman’s New Horizons Program and the Children’s School of Rochester started over 15 years ago when New Horizons musicians began performing for full school assemblies at the Children’s School. This partnership continues to thrive and evolve today due to the many NH directors and performers that have formed lasting relationships with the staff and students at CSR. When CSR moved to its new ‘forever home’ in the Cobb’s Hill neighborhood it was now only blocks away from the church where the NH ensembles rehearse. With this closer proximity, it was only natural to institute ‘walking field trips’ that could foster even deeper connections between the students and musicians. 

There is no doubt that students gain a plethora of musical knowledge through collaborating with the NH ensembles, but one of the most important lessons they learn is the understanding that they can carry their love of music with them no matter their age and wherever they go in the world. This speaks volumes to the CSR family, who call themselves ‘A World in a School’. Many of the students have traveled to Rochester from all around the globe. Over 20 different languages are spoken in the building, allowing each child to benefit from a rich tapestry of cultural experiences. And, music plays an integral part in helping the students’ transition from their native languages to English. It provides a platform between worlds where students are often confident performing musically well before they are fully comfortable speaking English in a public setting. At CSR, the old adage “Music is the Universal Language of Mankind” really rings true.  

There are many ways that the New Horizons program has partnered with and supported the Children’s School of Rochester over the years. The New Horizons Big Band, under the direction of Priscilla Brown, performs for the entire CSR school family at the end of each school year, members of various NH ensembles volunteer their time to attend school music lessons and give instrument specific master classes, the ‘Play It Forward’ fund provides students with tuition free summer music study opportunities, and the NH Concert Bands, under the direction of Larry Neeck and Bruce Burritt, have combined with the school band in side by side rehearsal and performance enrichment experiences. This school year there are plans underway to join the bands again to prepare one of director Larry Neeck’s original compositions. What an amazing experience it will be for the students to learn a piece of music directly from the person who wrote it!

With such a successful partnership forged in the band arena, it is now the hope of the CSR music department, Mary Robey and Eric Williamson, to begin developing additional bonds with the New Horizons orchestra and choral programs as well. The sky is the limit!

Written by Kyle Peters, percussion instructor

A metronome is an important tool that all musicians should use in their practice sessions. What might seem like a frustrating click or beep at first, will soon become one of the most beneficial tools to help you in your learning process. The metronome will not only improve your sense of time, but also allow for a more organized and structured practice session.

How to Begin:

Start with counting rhythm away from your instrument. Start simple, and slowly increase the level of difficulty in your counting exercises. Revisit old method books and use the rhythm of the melodies or exercises for counting examples.

Below is a simple rhythm exercise to get you started with the metronome. Begin at quarter note = 80. Count each exercise at three different tempos. Example: 80, 120, 60.

This exercise can be done as a warm up, walking to class, or during a commercial break. It can be difficult at first to tell if you are with the metronome. With guidance from your teacher and mindful practice you will be successful.

Once you are comfortable counting along with your metronome, it is time to add the instrument. Although the instrument is in our hands, counting is still key! Most musicians cannot verbally count and play/sing at the same time, but you are responsible to keep counting and subdivision in your head when playing.

Tips:

1. Before playing anything with a metronome, allow yourself to listen to 5 to 10 clicks of your tempo. This will allow you to internalize the time. A problem I see when starting with a metronome is not allowing yourself time to hear the tempo.
2. Always start slow. Just because a piece is marked at 120 does not mean you start there. Start at 60, and work your way up. Starting slow with a metronome will help prevent any bad habits from forming. I always tell my students “Accuracy over speed.”
3. Make sure you can hear the metronome when you play. This might seem obvious but instruments can be loud! It is important you always hear the metronome clearly.
4. Start with one measure at a time. I tell my students “playing with a metronome is not hard, it is just new.” With all new technique, we want to start slow or in smaller chunks. Count one measure at a time and see if you are still with the click. If not, find out where in the measure you rushed or slowed down. Repeat multiple times until you can consistently stay with the click.
5. Take breaks. I have seen many musicians get frustrated with the metronome. When working on a new skill start with just 5 minutes at a time. If you find yourself getting frustrated, stop and take a break. Frustration will only lead to more mistakes and a lack of focus.
6. Slow Tempos: If you are working on a piece that is a slower tempo, it might help to have the metronome on a smaller subdivision. For example, if something you are working on is marked at Quarter Note = 50, put the metronome on 100. This will give you the eighth note subdivision. As you become more comfortable with the metronome, and develop a stronger sense of time, you will then be able play along with a slower click.

Tendencies:

As you practice with a metronome, keep track of your tendencies of time. Some of the most common examples I observe are:

1. Longer Note Lengths: Are you holding your long notes for the correct value? When I first started with a metronome I realized I cut all of my long notes short!
2. Rest Values: When listening to juries, solofest, and auditions, the number one issue with tempo is rest lengths. Rests are often cut short or even overlooked. It is important to count through all rests. Although we do not play/sing during rests they still have a rhythmic value. The metronome will allow you to fill that space with clicks to keep our tempo steady.
3. Technical Passages: When you reach a very challenging point in your solo, do you maintain a steady tempo? When practicing a piece of music you should only play as fast as your most difficult measure. Make sure the metronome click allows you to develop a fluid tempo in and out of technical passages.

What are your tendencies you notice when practicing with a metronome? The metronome will allow you to identify and fix these aspects of your playing.

How often should I use a metronome?

Always. I recommend using your metronome for at least 90% of your practice session. I always have mine on my music stand. When learning a new piece of music, start of with a metronome. Once you are use to practicing with a metronome, and know your tendencies you will start learning music more efficiently.

Advanced Metronome Practice:

Once you feel very comfortable playing with a metronome, try some of these techniques in your daily practice:

1. Off Beat Clicks: Have the metronome click on the off beats. When changing where the pulse lands you might discover different tendencies in your playing. Try this for the example above.
2. Downbeat Clicks: Have the metronome only click on the downbeat of each measure. This will challenge your consistency of time! If this is too difficult at first, start with every two beats and work your way to a full measure. You can extend this even further. Example – a click on every other measure.

Moving around where the click falls in your music will strengthen your internal pulse. It can be applied to a piece you know very well to challenge your time keeping skills at a high level.

Conclusion:

The metronome is a great tool to track your progress. Starting a piece with the click at 50 and progressing to 100 is a great feeling. It allows you to be more attentive to details and correct problems you might not know are happening with out one! Remember – do not increase the speed until you are playing accurately at your current tempo.

Enjoy the process of using a metronome! It will take time to get used to, but it is a useful skill to acquire.  If this is new for you, take your time – playing with a metronome is not hard, it is just new! In time you will improve your internal pulse, strengthening all other aspects of your playing.

It is with great pride and a healthy dose of awe that we introduce two fresh alumni of the Eastman Community Music School who are bound for advanced study of historical performance on the baroque violin. After studying the instrument with baroque violinist and ECMS faculty member Boel Gidholm, both Erik Schroeder and Liza Sommers have made plans to pursue their studies further after graduation. In the spring semester, I got the chance to correspond with both students and find out how they became so deeply involved with such an unusual instrument for a teenager to love.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef9XbnAh3rY[/embedyt]
Liza Sommers performs Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber’s Mystery Sonata No. 1 on last spring’s Senior Adieu Recital

What first inspired you to focus your studies on baroque violin?

Erik: I began studying modern violin performance when I was 5 years old, and continue my studies with Mr. Marcos Kreutzer at the Hochstein School of Music. Several years ago I discovered I had an affinity for the music of the 17th and 18th centuries, particularly for the Galant style (which is to say, the music of J.C. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Gluck, etc.). After I discovered Historical Performance, I began to play the baroque violin, which I have since fallen in love with.

Liza: Having attended Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Rochester since early childhood, I have had ample opportunities to hear Baroque music performed by excellent organists on Eastman’s Craighead-Saunders organ (a process reconstruction of a Casparini organ built in 1776 which still stands in Vilnius, Lithuania today!), and by the Schola Cantorum, of which I am now delighted to be a member. Also strongly compelling to me about early music is that it is inextricably tied to history! I am endlessly fascinated by Medieval and Renaissance European history, and one cannot study the music of these eras without learning about the political, religious, and intellectual contexts out of which it rose.

I had been in love with the style for quite a while before making the decision to switch to studying the Baroque violin. As I progressed on the modern violin, I was more and more drawn to the earlier music and had no desire to learn showy Romantic pieces. It was in February of last year that I began – at last! – to study Baroque violin. My mother asked a friend of ours, a Baroque cellist, if she knew a Baroque violinist in Rochester who could teach me. Boel Gidholm’s was the name she recommended, a brilliant teacher and one of the most marvelous people I have ever known. It is a joy and an honor to be her student.

What is your favorite baroque piece, or your favorite piece from another era?

Liza: If there is a musician who can identify with conviction her favorite piece of music, please introduce me to her! I have no single favorite, but a few pieces resonate with me especially. From the Baroque, Samuel Scheidt’s Ludi Musici are breathtaking and sublime. About two and a half centuries later came Edvard Grieg’s Holberg Suite, which is uniquely delightful.

Erik: This is a difficult question! It’s hard to choose just one piece from the longest era in musical history. As a violinist, I am inclined to say Corelli’s Opus 5 violin sonatas for their historical importance as well as for their beauty, but I would have to say that my personal favorites are the later Mozart operas (for example, Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Die Zauberfloete).

What is the biggest difference for you between performing on baroque violin and modern violin?

Erik: I find that Historical Performance offers an incredibly refreshing outlook on music. This type of performance is very organic and personal. The biggest difference, I think, comes from the fact that, as a period musician, I approach this music from a historically informed perspective . This requires me to be more than just a violinist; rather, it means that I need to be something more like the eighteenth-century definition of a Musicus, that is, a musician who is truly knowledgeable in all aspects of their art. Of course, a lot of work is required to get there — and I don’t pretend to be there yet! There is always more to learn, and I think this is also what I love most about Historical Performance.

Liza: The sentiment. Early music, like plenty of later music, of course, is profoundly emotive and intensely collaborative, but it feels less demanding and more personally engaging. Its virtuosity consists not in its pushing the limits of the performer’s technique and the instrument’s range, but rather in its creative, improvisatory nuance. It is the music of sanctuaries and royal courts, not of enormous concert halls. It feels more introspective, more intimate.

I think of historically informed performance not as a resurrection but rather as a return; that is, not dragging the past into the present, but rather stepping back into the past for a restorative break from modernity. To play early music is to lose oneself in the echoes of a former world. Early music is thus imbued with a sense of wonder and peculiar nostalgia. It has a mysterious allure – indeed, it takes on something of a fantastical quality – because it belongs to a time and space so long past that it feels magical. Early European history is also like this; in looking at the ways the people of Medieval and Renaissance Europe dressed and painted and treated illnesses and punished criminals, one feels like she is reading fairy tales rather than learning about real people and their lives. And when one realizes that all of this is real and true, that this is what the world once looked and sounded like, that living individuals wrote and spoke and danced and painted and composed because human beings everywhere and always have a will to beauty, and that now, hundreds of years later, that beauty resonates with us… It’s marvelous. Ineffably marvelous. Ineffable. All I can do is ramble romantically about it and hope that something coherent turns up. Also, more directly to the question, mean tone is gorgeous. Once you have heard pure thirds, sixths, and sevenths, you will forever after regard the intervals on an equally-tempered piano with a twinge of nausea.

What are your plans for the future?

Liza: I know that I am going to study early music and Medieval European history, most likely at the Jacobs School of Music and Indiana University. I love the idea of graduate school in Europe, where I may well decide to live. I have difficulty imagining exactly what my career will look like, though; I want to play in an early music ensemble, and I wouldn’t mind living in the world of academia. I’m excited to see whatever the future may hold. 

Erik: I am planning to study baroque violin performance in Europe.

*Update: Both students were accepted to undergraduate degrees in historical performance at Oberlin Conservatory (where they were the first undergraduate string applicants) and Indiana University! Liza has indeed chosen to attend IU in the fall, studying historical performance. Erik was also accepted to study at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, where he will pursue his degree in Early Music Performance. Congratulations to both!*

And finally, when you aren’t playing violin, what do you like to spend time doing?

Erik: Keeping consistent with my performance interests, I also devote a lot of time to historically informed composition, partly out of my love for the music of this era but also to gain a better understanding of what it meant to be a musician in the eighteenth century. I also find that these types of efforts are important, especially in the twenty-first century as numerous audiences are looking to return to accessible and understandable music after the rise of expressions such as atonality and serialism in the twentieth century (the same conditions that helped Historical Performance to flourish and continue to grow in the first place). In addition, I am interested in studying history, art, and literature, and I also enjoy playing tennis.

Liza: When not playing the violin, I am likely to be found attempting to play the cello, communing with my family, listening incessantly to Bach’s third Brandenburg Concerto, or reading about the great pestilence of 1346-1353, which has long been a morbid fascination of mine.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex125bkm9G0[/embedyt] 
Erik Schroeder performs George Frideric Handel’s Violin Sonata 
Op. 1, No. 6 also at the Senior Adieu Recital in May.

If this post has piqued your interest in historically informed performance and baroque music you can find lots of opportunities to engage with this repertoire right here in Rochester! In addition to private lessons at ECMS, we offer two baroque ensembles, one is led by Boel Gidholm on period instruments, and the other is led by Christopher Haritatos on modern instruments. All offerings are open to students who wish to learn, meet weekly or bi-weekly, and perform in recitals here at Eastman. If attending as an audience member is more to your liking visit Publick Musick, Pegasus Early Music, or the Rochester Early Music Festival and feast your ears on this sublime repertoire!

Interviewer/Author: Eli Campbell is the Media and Events Coordinator at Eastman Community Music School.