Vacation in Santa Barbara

I completed my first year at the most prestigious music university, The Juilliard School in New York, very successfully in May. I really enjoyed my second semester; I wouldn’t say it was as hectic as the first one, and as usual, if you enjoy something, it passes by really quickly.

I completed my first year at the most prestigious music university, The Juilliard School in New York, very successfully in May. I really enjoyed my second semester; I wouldn’t say it was as hectic as the first one, and as usual, if you enjoy something, it passes by really quickly.

I had to pack my suitcases in late April because the end of my academic year was punctuated by my participation in the “world violin championship” – The Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition. Even though I was momentarily disappointed about not making it to the competition’s semifinals, I consider my participation in itself to be my biggest success to date, since making it among the 78 out of the 1,500 violinists aged under 30 who can participate in the competition certainly means something. I haven’t completed my academic year as such, though. I only managed six out of the eight final exams and I have to take the remaining two (Violin and Music History) before the beginning of the next semester. I have already registered for next year and will continue the subjects of Ear Training II, LMMUS II (Counterpoint, Harmony and Forms), Music History (Antiquity through Renaissance), and for arts, I chose Genres & Generations. I’ll see how time-consuming the violin, orchestra and chamber ensemble will be; I’d like to top off my schedule with German and Orchestral Parts.

Since mid-June, I have been spending my summer at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California. The summer school was founded 65 years ago and is one of the top three in America. It is an immensely selective program for 140 musicians, including vocalists. It gives us the opportunity to meet the truly greatest personalities, including violinist Gil Shaham, pianist Jerome Lowenthal, last century’s most influential opera singer Marylin Horne, conductor Yan Pascal Tortelier, and the legendary New York Metropolitan Opera French horn player Julie Landsman. I said “vacation” in the heading above; well this is certainly not the kind of vacation that all of us here at Santa Barbara would expect.

While the Academy sits right on the Pacific coast, I only got to immerse myself in the ocean’s cold waves twice in the past four weeks – and not because the water is cold. We have orchestra lessons every morning; there are individual lessons, chamber music lessons, and master classes in the afternoon; and in the evening we have just about enough time to practice or rehearse. Concerts featuring the members of the music faculty are held on Tuesdays, and it was an amazing experience hearing and seeing the rendition of Brahms’ trio for the violin, French horn and piano courtesy of Gil Shaham, Julie Landsman and Jonathan Feldman, and Schumann’s piano quintet played by the San Diego Symphony concertmaster Jeff Thayer, the legendary Cleveland Quartet second violinist Peter Salaff, the New York Philharmonic viola section leader Cynthia Phelps, and the New York Philharmonic cellists Alan Stepansky and Jerome Lowenthal.

It’s almost like a dream being around these people and having the opportunity to learn from them. I’m really having a great time here and looking forward to the remaining four weeks.

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