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DAVID ANGEL: Champion 2Nd Violin EUROPEAN STRING TEACHERS ASSOCIATION www.estastrings.org.uk BRITISH BRANCH SUMMER 2017 vol.43 no.2 DAVID ANGEL: Champion 2nd violin PLUS CELLO VIBRATO QUARTET INTONATION HOW TO FIND FLOW THE PROBLEM WITH EXAMS ADVICE FOR PARENTS SUMMER 2017 vol.43 no.2 Harald Hoffmann Harald © UK BRANCH Photo Credit Credit Photo BRITISH BRANCH Contents 5 Editor’s welcome 6 From the chair – message from Dale Chambers 7 Diary Dates – ESTA events 8 Members’ News and Events 20 10 New Products 12 Advice page – home practice tips for parents 14 Comment – the danger of exams 16 Comment – ESTA needs you 20 Life in Teaching – cello pedagogue Stefan Popov 32 26 How to teach cello vibrato 32 Getting your students into the flow 36 Quartet intonation 40 Bursary Funding 36 44 Bursary Reports 48 Event Reports 50 Reviews – the latest sheet music, methods and books 58 Corporate Members and Local Contacts 62 Looking back – Jean-Louis Duport Strings Handmade in Germany 48 www.pirastro.com Vadim Repin Editorial 5 aving been involved in various capacities with ESTA for several years – you may have seen me performing or speaking at various conferences and events – it’s Hwith great delight that I’ve taken up the mantle of Editor from a line of excellent predecessors. Inevitably, or perhaps importantly, depending upon your view of change, things will be a little different in the magazines, as they are with any new editor! I see this issue very much as a balancing act between what has gone before, new ideas I already Steve Bingham have in mind, and the unavoidable learning curve encountered when taking on a new position. I want to keep Arco relevant to as much of our membership as possible, whilst encouraging new members to join and inviting participation from you all in the form of articles, reviews, suggestions and feedback. • What articles help you the most? • Which are the most interesting to read? • What’s missing? Please do get in touch via [email protected] and have your say. To echo what Ariane said in her final editorial earlier this year: “The more members there are, the more involved you all are, and the more you all develop as individuals, the better string BRITISH BRANCH teaching will be in this country, and that surely is the aim.” With the blurring of boundaries between print and digital publishing my role is Arco already bound up with the continued development of the ESTA website and I am Editorial queries to excited about the expanded possibilities this gives us all for interactivity and extended [email protected] media – working hand in hand with the traditional magazine formats which we will Arco is produced for continue to produce. ESTA UK by MUSO Communications My hope for this, my first Arco, is that you will Hill Quays, 14 Commercial • enjoy reading it Street, Manchester, M15 4PZ • learn something from it info@musocommunications. com • laugh out loud at least once tel 0161 638 5615 • get in touch with your ideas for the future Editor and that you won’t Steve Bingham Designer • find any spelling errors Peter Davin • throw it, unopened, into the bin Advertising • find it irrelevant Marcus Netherwood So now to go boldly forward, avoiding split infinitives, but annoying Star Trek fans, with preparations for the next issues and exciting plans for the website. STEVE BINGHAM [email protected] • @estaeditor Contributors Naomi Sarah Mnatzaganian Ted Wilson John Beder Yandell Sarah Mnatzaganian Ted is a violin and viola is a filmmaker and Naomi Yandell teaches runs Aitchison & teacher who has lived percussionist. In 2008 cello at King’s College Mnatzaganian Cello in Cardiff for the last 41 he graduated from School, St John’s Specialists in Ely with years, 18 of which were Boston University with College School and her husband, cello spent with in the a degree in music Stringmoves. Author of the Trinity College maker Robin Aitchison. Orchestra of Welsh performance during Theory of Music Workbooks she has also Sarah writes articles, National Opera and 20 managing the St which he discovered a passion for co-authored the String Note Book theory helps cellists to find and sell instruments and David’s String Quartet. His first of many filmmaking. series for young beginner string players with bows, and connects with cellists across the pupils was his daughter Nicole, the founder Celia Cobb. (www.bridgemusicpublications. world via the website www.aitchisoncellos. of Musical Orbit. com co.uk). 6 WELCOME DIARY DATES 7 From the Chair ESTA DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 5 February, 10am–5.30pm 5–6 May Spiccato Teachers’ and Family Day plus AGM Ted Wilson runs a workshop on this essential at Saffron Hall bowing technique, using examples from the Nicola Benedetti will give the keynote address current ABRSM Grade 3+ list. and take part in this two-day conference for ESTA members £20; string teachers and students, which includes ESTA student members £15 masterclasses, workshops, discussions and Cardiff University School of Music, sessions with teachers including Natasha Corbett Road, Cardiff CF10 3EB Boyarsky, William Bruce, Simon Cartledge and Philip Aird. The event will conclude with our 9–10 February Annual General Meeting, to which all Music & Drama Education Expo members are invited. Further information will ESTA will exhibit alongside around 130 other be available online soon. music education organisations and brands. Saffron Hall, Audley End Road, Saffron There will also be 60 professional development Walden CB11 4UH SIMON FOWLER SIMON sessions. Visit us at stand E5. Free registration at www. 26–30 May Save the date: violinist Nicola musicanddramaeducationexpo.co.uk International ESTA Conference, Benedetti will give the keynote speech Olympia, Hammersmith Road, London Kazan and take part in our Strings Conference Delegates must arrange an official invitation at Saffron Hall, 5–6 May ell, here I go again! The recent AGM at Arco this is. Steve will be well known to many of you 12 February, 10am–3.30pm and visa to go to next year’s conference so Saffron Hall (see below) decided to vote as a violinist, quartet leader, teacher and looper Pathways in Teaching: forward planning is strongly advised. The form ESTA BRITISH BRANCH Stringbabies, with Kay Tucker is available on the website, and from admin@ me back onto Council after my statutory extraordinaire. He is also a very accomplished W President Kay Tucker will give an overview of how estastrings.org.uk. For more information about year away, and Council decided to appoint me their editor, and will be working very hard not only on David le Page Stringbabies works and introduce the new 3 the conference, email [email protected]. Chair. What a contrast that was to my previous producing Arco and Jesta, but will also be keeping Vice president level VCM Stringbabies Awards, which provide arrival into the Chair in 2012, with ESTA in crisis and the website under constant review along with Christopher Wellington creative and achievable incentives for beginner 6–11 August Council members resignations coming thick and fast! Sheila Holdsworth. Welcome Steve! string players. ESTA Summer School 2017 Dale Chambers (Chair), Simon Cartledge, ESTA members £25; ESTA student This year’s Summer School returns to Dale Chambers, my predecessor, and who has Steve was also present at the Saffron Hall Jo Cole, Elizabeth Goble, Stuart Hazelton, members £15 Chichester University, along with the popular sadly served his full term on Council, did a fantastic weekend, complete with his looping equipment, Gwilym Hooson, Simon Jones, Louise Lansdown, Joanna Leslie, Vera Pereira, Kay Primrose Hill Community Association, daily Basics string pedagogy classes, with the job, keeping everything running smoothly and, and serenaded everyone as they came in and Tucker, Ted Wilson 29 Hopkinsons Place, London NW1 8TN upper strings led by Bojan Cvetreznik and lower strings by James Halsey. Mornings begin most importantly, overseeing the launch of our registered. This first (and I sincerely hope not the Executive committee exciting new postgraduate teacher training course, last) collaboration with Saffron Hall - a really Philip Aird, Dale Chambers, Sheila 5 March, 10am–3.30pm with Daily Dalcroze with Sian Ford and there Pathways in Teaching: will practical sessions from Ted Wilson, Kay with its accreditation from Chichester University. excellent venue both in its facilities and its wonderful Holdsworth, Ariane Todes, Kay Tucker Spiccato, with Ted Wilson and Tucker, Paul Harris, Kathy and David Blackwell, The first day of that course also took place during staff - and Nicola Benedetti was a great success, ESTA (UK) OFFICERS Chief Executive Officer Philip Aird Daniel Palmizio Gavin Sutherland, Charlotte Tomlinson, the Saffron Hall weekend, and 13 of our 14 students attracting around 300 people on the first day, [email protected] Ted Wilson will lead a session on how he Caroline Pearsall and Sarah Drury, as well as had a stimulating and enjoyable day under the including pupils and students, and around 100 Administrator Sheila Holdsworth teaches spiccato, using examples from the concerts by David Le Page, Vera Pereira and leadership of Richard Crozier, Course Director, and teachers on day 2. More about this elsewhere in this [email protected] current ABRSM syllabus, and Daniel Palmizio Bojan Cvetreznik and his band. For more ESTA secretary/Membership secretary will explore more advanced spiccato technique. details, see http://bit.ly/2jAvH4h. our wonderful mentors, Sarah Crooks, Helen issue. Philip Aird, our indomitable CEO, is talking to Anja Josefsberg [email protected] ESTA members £25; ESTA student Book by 1 April for the early-bird fee of Dromey, Jessica O’Leary and Laura Ritchie. Where Nicola about future collaborations. International Liaison members £15 £499 for members and £370 for student John Shayler was our 14th student, I hear you ask? She was at Recently I travelled to the international [email protected] Primrose Hill Community Association, members home.
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