It’s
coming up to chamber music contest season[i]. You may have had some of your students
request you find them some music, or they may have been given some music from
school.
Your
involvement in their preparation might be minimal – you may just have to coach
your student in their part. At the other
end of the scale (!),[ii] you
might be the sole coach – having to coach not only your instrument, but others
you’re not so familiar with.
The
following is based on the latter – you’re the sole coach of a group.
Admin
Things:
You need
to familiarise yourself with the rules of the contest, in particular with
things like group size, length of performance (minimum and maximum), entry
close-off date and use of photocopies.
Music:
If
you’re not familiar with the music you need to get a copy of the score and try
to find a recording. This is not only
for your benefit, but for your students (and trust me, they won’t go looking
for one).
Rehearsals:
Trying
to get everyone together can be a full-time job in itself. If the members of your group have their
lesson together, then that’s perfect. If
they’re at the same school, but their lesson isn’t at the same time, then they
need to find a lunchtime when they can do some independent practise. I have found setting up a Facebook group is
usually quite effective in trying to wrangle students. You will need contact details for their
parents too, so that you can make sure they know what’s going on and all the
students can get to the rehearsals. I
write a notice at the beginning of the chamber music “season” so they know all
the info. I include when the contest is,
how much the entry costs, where it will be held, where and when rehearsals are. And then I email it to their parents, school
music teachers and, if they don’t learn from me, their instrumental teacher.
No comments:
Post a Comment