Monthly Archives: July 2011

Summer Breaks

Another big summer event for string players in just around the corner.  Interlochen in Northern Michigan hosts the annual Adult Chamber Music Camp next month, for a full week of playing in small groups.  For those who can’t do the whole week, there’s also a String Chamber  Orchestra Weekend.  While I’m pining to go, my schedule this year – with Baltimore and all – just can’t spare the time.

Rebecca Nichols

Meanwhile, how does a professional violin player spend her summer?  Rebecca Nichols, the coach of our chamber group at the BSO Academy and a first violin player with the Baltimore Symphony, is spending her summer on a sailboat with her husband, sailing up the East Coast to Maine.  You can read about her experiences and see some great pictures on a blog she’s writing: Becky’s Sailing Adventure.  And, just because she’s sailing (or battling seasickness) doesn’t mean that she stops practicing.  She isn’t taking her best violin on the trip, but she is playing as they go!

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Summer and Fall Fantasies …

Received word today that the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis has announced a fantasy camp this fall.   They are looking for 50 amateur musicians – all parts – to take part in a two-day camp in mid-September.  The repertoire is Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, which is scheduled to be performed with the symphony in the second half of their September 16th concert.  You can get more information on the Minnesota Symphony site.

Nan Washburn

The information comes courtesy of Nan Washburn of the Michigan Philharmonic, who has just been named the new conductor of the Orchard Lake Philharmonic Society Symphony Orchestra.  The appointment received some coverage in local papers this weekend. Speaking both as a new board member of OLPS and a member of the orchestra, I’m delighted that Nan is coming on board.  The repertoire she has chosen for our fall concert is intriguing (Gluck, Ravel, Sibelius, Berlioz, and Mao Yuan).

The OLPS Symphony is looking for additional players, especially all strings.  If you play and want to get involved with a group, now is your chance!  Rehearsals begin Thursday, September 15th at West Bloomfield High School.  Additional information and registration materials are available on www.OLPSMusic.org.

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