Spring String Conference 2016
Interactive Schedule: Click on Clinician to Get Bio. Click on Title of Workshop to Get Description. Click on the "Jump Back to Schedule" at the end of every Bio and Workshop Description to Get Back to the Schedule. OR Just Scroll down to get all the clinician biographies and workshop descriptions.
Schedule of Events - April 2nd, 2016
*10:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Industry/Exhibits Open*
8:45 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. ARRIVE, REGISTER/PICK UP PACKAGES AND DELEGATE BAGS, AND ENJOY COFFEE, JUICE/WATER, PASTRIES AND MUFFINS!
10:00 a.m. EXHIBITS OPEN
9:15 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. BREAKOUT SESSION ONE
- Janina Szot - Home Practicing Techniques for School String Students (Sponsored by the Ontario Strings Association)
- Dr. Michael Hopkins - Collaborative Composing in Middle and High School Chamber Ensembles (Sponsored by the Ontario Strings Association)
10:25 a.m. - 10:55 a.m. INDUSTRY BREAK AND MID MORNING COFFEE
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. BREAKOUT SESSION TWO
- Dr. Michael Hopkins - Multi Publisher String Orchestra Reading Session - Bring Your Instruments and play/read along! (Sponsored by Alfred Music Publishing and Steve's Music Toronto)
12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. LUNCH (PROVIDED) AND DEDICATED INDUSTRY TIME - DOOR PRIZE DRAWS!
1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. BREAKOUT SESSION THREE (A)
- David Hetherington - Student Chamber String Ensemble Performance Masterclass (Sponsored by Interprovincial Music Camp - IMC)
- Dr. Michael Hopkins - What Can My Students Hear? Developing Aural Skills and Tuning Independence in Orchestra (Sponsored by Alfred Music Publishing and Steve's Music Toronto)
2:20 p.m. - 2:55 p.m. INDUSTRY BREAK, MORE COFFEE AND AFTERNOON COOKIES!
3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. FEATURE PERFORMANCE BY VC2!
3:15 p.m. INDUSTRY TEAR-DOWN/EXHIBIT AREA CLOSES DOWN
3:50 p.m. GRAND PRIZE DRAWS AND GOODBYES
Janina (Jan) Szot is passionate about music, as a violinist and mezzo-soprano. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in music from the University of Toronto. Until her retirement in June 2014, she taught string orchestra and choral programs for 40 years within the TDSB. During her last 25 years working for the TDSB, she was a teacher of choral and string orchestra programs at the Claude Watson School for the Arts.
In retirement, she continues to enjoy her work in music education. Thus, she is very grateful for every opportunity to share her passion for music with students at every age and is very much enjoying her work as an occasional teacher with the TDSB. Jan has had a long involvement with the community youth orchestra movement as a conductor of the Mississauga Youth Orchestra, the Halton Youth Orchestra, the Sheridan Youth Symphony and as founder/conductor of the North York Symphony Youth Orchestra. Orchestras and choirs directed by Ms. Szot have performed and presented workshops at local, provincial and national music festivals and conferences. Since her retirement from the TDSB, Jan has become a passionate member of the Alto 1 Section of the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and the Mendelssohn Singers.
9:15 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. - SESSION ONE
Janina Szot - Home Practicing Techniques for School Strings Students
*Sponsored by Ontario Strings Association
In our dual roles of teacher/music director, we often assign and expect home-practice from our students. We understand that this effort towards private practice is an essential aspect of comprehensive technical and musical skill development. We are also aware that students need our help in order to develop an understanding of "how to practice" in order to increase their own enjoyment of music in solo and ensemble playing. This clinic will focus on tips, techniques, the do's/don'ts of how to practice effectively and how to impress upon your string students the advantages of developing a regular and productive home practice routine.
Michael Hopkins is an associate professor of music education at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Ann Arbor, where he teaches undergraduate courses in string techniques, orchestra methods, and music technology, and graduate courses in psychology of music and research methods. Prior to joining the faculty, Hopkins was an associate professor of music at the University of Vermont, from 1999-2010, where he was conductor of the UVM Orchestra and taught courses in music edcuation and music technology.
Hopkins has appeared as a guest conductor at orchestra festivals throughout the United States and is the founding director of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra. He is very active as a composer and arranger, with more than 40 published works for orchestra. His music is published by Alfred Music Publishing, Grand Mesa Music, and Kendor Music Publishing, Inc. His works have been commissioned by many schools and ensembles throughout the U.S.
Dr. Hopkins has performed as a double bassist with professional orchestras in Vermont, New Hampshire, Michigan, Colorado, and Wyoming. He is the author of the award-winning Web site The String Pedagogy Notebook, a resource for string teacher and performers. He has published articles in the Journal of Research in Music Education, String Research Journal, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Music, Technology and Education, American String Teacher, Music Educators' Journal and The Instrumentalist. He has given many presentations at national and state conferences on various topics in string education and music technology. He is the director of the Michigan String Workshop and the U-M Bass Bash Festival. He has served on the faculty of the American String Workshop, as the executive director for the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and is past president of the Vermont chapter of ASTA with NSOA. Hopkins received his bachelor's degree in music education from Colorado State University and his masters and PhD in music education from the University of Michigan.
9:15 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. - SESSION ONE
Dr. Michael Hopkins - Collaborative in Middle and High School Chamber Ensembles
*Sponsored by the Ontario Strings Association
This session will provide participants with information about how orchestra directors can develop, implement, and assess high quality collaborative composing experiences in middle and high school chamber music ensembles. Numerous examples of successful projects will be presented, along with research-based findings of the benefits and challenges of including creative experiences in the middle and high school orchestra curriculum.
11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - SESSION TWO
Dr. Michel Hopkins - Multi Publisher String Orchestra Repertoire Reading Session
*Sponsored by Alfred Music Publishing and Steve's Music Toronto
This session brings all of us together - Bring your instrument and play/read along as Dr. Hopkins leads us through 20 hot titles for String Orchestra, levels 1 - 4.5 from our best and biggest repertoire publisher partners. Included in the selection will be several original works and arrangements from the pen of our special guest clinician, Michael Hopkins. This session is a must for those instructors looking for new and fresh programming ideas for both performance and instruction time. This is a great opportunity to expand your library and just in time to start rehearsal for spring concert season. All selections will be available at the Steve's Music booth display, featured at special pricing for all delegates in attendance.
1:15 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. - SESSION THREE
Dr. Michael Hopkins - What Can My Students Hear? Developing Aural Skills and Tuning Independence in Orchestra
*Sponsored by Alfred Music Publishing and Steve's Music Toronto
This session will provide an overview of Dr. Hopkins' intensive research findings on approaches to teaching tuning and aural skills development in the strings classroom.
A native of St. Catharines Ontario, David Hetherington was for many years the Toronto Symphoy Orchestra's Assistant Principal Cellist.
He received his musical training at the Royal Conservatory of Music and the University of Toronto, and furthered his cello studies in New York, Italy and Germany with Claus Adam, Andre Navarra and Paul Tortelier.
Mr. Hetherington teaches at the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory. He coaches the cello sections of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and is Music Director of the Inter-Provincial Music Camp near Parry Sound, Ontario.
As soloist, Mr. Hetherington has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, the Sault Symphony Orchestra, the Niagara Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of Canada, New Music Concerts and Soundstreams Canada as well as recitals at the University of Toronto and the Royal Conservatory of Music.
As chamber musician, he has toured Canada, the United States, Mexico, China and Europe, appeared at the Ottawa, Elora, Sweetwater and Kincardine Music Festivals and performed with many internationally renowned artists such as Shmuel Askenasi, Emmanuel Ax, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Measha Brueggergosman, James Ehnes, Heinz Holliger and Arnold Steinhardt. He appears regularly with the ARC Ensemble of the Royal Conservatory with whom he has toured and recorded.
Mr. Hetherington is a founding member of the Amici Chamber Ensemble which presents an annual series of concerts at the Mazzoleni Hall in Toronto. With Amici he has recorded eleven discs for Summit Records, Naxos, CBC records and ATMA Classique. Their first CD won a Juno award for Chan Ka Nin's Among Friends which was written for Amici. In 2013 Amici won a Juno award for their recording Levant.
In addition to the Amici Chamber Ensemble, Mr. Hetherington is also a founding member of the string quartet Accordes, which performs regularly for New Music Concerts, Soundstreams Canada and other contemporary music organizations. In 2001, the Canadian Music Centre, through Centrediscs, released Accordes' recording of Harry Somers' String Quartets, for which it received a Juno Award nomination. Accordes has also recorded works by several other Canadian composers such as Norma Beecroft, David Eagle, Harry Freedman, Hope Lee, Alexina Louie and Jean Papineau-Couture.
Mr. Hetherington has appeared on several recordings for the CBC and the Centrediscs with whom he made the Canadian premiere recording of Talivaldis Kenins' prize-winning cello sonata. He has been active in performing and recording much contemporary music and has recorded solo cello pieces by Alice Ho, Chan Ka Nin (CBC Records) and Elliot Carter (Naxos). In addition, he has collaborated personally with many other composers such as Brian Cherney, Henri Dutilleux, Heinz Holliger, Helmut Lachenmann, Magnus Lindberg and Alexina Louie for performances of their works for solo cello. All of these performances were recorded for broadcast by the CBC.
Mr. Hetherington plays a cello made in 1695 by Givovanni Battista Grancino.
1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. - SESSION THREE
David Hetherington - Student Chamber String Ensemble Performance Masterclass
*Sponsored by Interprovincial Music Camp (IMC)
We are honoured to be working with David Hetherington from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra as we produce another fantastic and educational Student Strings Chamber Ensemble Performance Masterclass. This clinic starts promptly at 1:00 p.m. (shortening the lunch break to 45 minutes for all masterclass attendees). Four GTA student ensembles will have the opportunity to perform for our clinician/adjudicator for immediate on-the-spot live feedback.
VC2 are an innovative cello duo that bridge the gap between Ludwig Van and Van Halen. Comprised of multi-genre cellists Amahl Arulanandam and Bryan Holt, the Toronto-based duo seeks to present programmes that are both artistically challenging and easily accessible to the casual concertgoer. They have performed in venues ranging from intimate pubs to Roy Thompson Hall and are constantly searching for new ways and spaces to bring art music to a wide variety of audiences. VC2 pride themselves not only on performing works by the great masters of classical music, but also original arrangements of the modern classics of popular music. They have a deep connection to the world of New Music and are constantly striving to present new works by living composers, especially those that are home-grown.
Formed in 2015, the pair met in 2008 while at the University of Toronto where they both studied under Shauna Rolston. They chose to continue their studies at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, where they completed their Master’s Degrees with Matt Haimovitz. As luck would have it, they both found themselves back in Toronto and a musical partnership was born.
Both Mr. Holt and Mr. Arulanandam wear many musical hats as orchestral, chamber and session musicians in the Greater Toronto Area. They have appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Soundstreams, The Art of Time Ensemble, Continuum Contemporary Music, Pocket Concerts and Tapestry Opera. They are also both members of Haimovitz’s ensemble, Uccello, and were semi-finalists in the 2015 Eckhardt-Gramatte competition.
Though new to the scene, VC2 seek to take a place at the forefront of the Canadian chamber music world, bringing their unique brand of cello-fuelled music coast-to-coast.
3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m. - SESSION FOUR
Feature Performance VC2