Featured stories
My experience: cellist Madeleine Welsh, NCMC: National Chamber Music Course
’It’s quite a big community, but it’s still personal: you don’t feel lost in the masses,’ says the British cellist
My experience: violist Rory Africa, Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival
’This festival showed me what a career in music is all about,’ says the South African violist
My experience: double bassist Bailey Amspoker, Pacific Music Festival Orchestra Academy
’Playing for a community that is so passionate and cares so much was so moving and wonderful,’ says the US double bassist
My experience: violinist Ana Labazan Brajša, International Music School Upbeat
’I don’t think it’s a difficult decision for people to travel for the masterclass, because it has good teachers, good company, and the seaside in summer!’ says the Croatian violinist
My experience: cellist Anthony De Clara, Celloworld Festival
’You can really focus on what’s most meaningful for you – be it solo performance, orchestral playing or pedagogy,’ says the Canadian cellist
Arnaud Sussmann: the importance of chamber music across generations
The violinist shares why it is significant for musicians of different generations to play and learn together, both in his own experience and in his capacity as artistic director of Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach, as it prepares to welcome its Rising Artists for 2026
My experience: cellist Natalia Vilchis, Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University
’It’s been a journey, and a life-changing experience; not only in the academic regard, but also because you meet people who are going to be in your life for ever!’ says the cellist
My experience: double bassist Marcelo Rodrigues, Royal Northern College of Music
’My favourite aspect of studying here has been the proximity to the professional world,’ says the double bassist
My experience: violinist Guilherme Lourenço Reis, Academia Nacional Superior de Orquestra
’I feel much more confident after doing this course, as it’s very moulded to the reality of orchestras and auditions, even regarding solo repertoire,’ says the violinist
My experience: cellist Tomos Christie, New Zealand School of Music
’It’s nice to be part of a motivated community. Everyone is on a similar journey, albeit at different stages, and that gives you a lot of hope,’ says the cellist
My experience: violist Kirsten Wilbrandt Kjær, Royal Danish Academy of Music
’What’s quite special here is that you can define your own path, and for me, that’s been chamber music,’ says the violist
My experience: violinist Arieta Liatsi, Universität Mozarteum Salzburg
’It’s a super inspiring place, with many music festivals and concerts throughout the year, and Salzburg is also so pretty – like a fairytale cake!’ says the violinist
My experience: violinist and fiddler Olivia Breen, Mike Block String Camp
’You get these crazy mashups of people who will never play together anywhere else, and your mind is just blown every set,’ says Breen
My experience: cellist Findlay Spence, IMS Prussia Cove Masterclasses
’Prussia Cove was a chance for us to escape from the hectic touring lifestyle and go deeper into the music,’ says the cellist of the Fibonacci Quartet
My experience: violist-composer Amani Sloley, Cremona International Music Academy and Festival
‘Even though we come from all these different places, we’re all just really big music nerds!’ says Sloley
My experience: violist Gwen Ovshinsky, Allcomers Music: Strings in Greece
’We rehearse outdoors in a shaded mini-amphitheatre right by the sea. It’s incredibly beautiful,’ says the violist
My experience: violist Claire Pass-Lanneau, ProQuartet
’When you want to do this for your whole career, hearing from someone who has done it for 40 years is very special,’ says the violist
My experience: cellist Cecilia Hoyt, Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Music Festival
‘There’s just this special energy that comes across the orchestra when you’re playing Don Giovanni where it was premiered,’ says the cellist, ‘I think everyone got goosebumps.’
‘Teaching, touring and technology’: the Curtis Institute’s Dover Quartet on the future of string playing
Thomas May visited the US’s pre-eminent conservatoire of music, the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, as part of the school’s 100th anniversary celebrations. While there, he spoke to the Dover Quartet’s cellist, Camden Shaw, about what being part of Curtis’s faculty means to him and to his colleagues, and to the ...
From NYO Inspire to the BBC Proms: violinist Charlotte Slater
Charlotte Slater shares how the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) has aided her journey as a violinist from rural Aberdeenshire to multiple performances at the world’s most prominent classical music festival, as well as tips for prospective students wanting to get involved
Featured stories
My experience: cellist Madeleine Welsh, NCMC: National Chamber Music Course
’It’s quite a big community, but it’s still personal: you don’t feel lost in the masses,’ says the British cellist
My experience: violist Rory Africa, Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival
’This festival showed me what a career in music is all about,’ says the South African violist
My experience: double bassist Bailey Amspoker, Pacific Music Festival Orchestra Academy
’Playing for a community that is so passionate and cares so much was so moving and wonderful,’ says the US double bassist
My experience: violinist Ana Labazan Brajša, International Music School Upbeat
’I don’t think it’s a difficult decision for people to travel for the masterclass, because it has good teachers, good company, and the seaside in summer!’ says the Croatian violinist
My experience: cellist Anthony De Clara, Celloworld Festival
’You can really focus on what’s most meaningful for you – be it solo performance, orchestral playing or pedagogy,’ says the Canadian cellist
