Klarinet Archive - Posting 000058.txt from 2007/10

From: Michael Rasmussen <mikeraz@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Clarinetissimo - Review
Date: Sun, 07 Oct 2007 19:55:31 -0400

Hi all,

I drove up to Seattle for Clarientissimo. The review I did for my teacher
follows. There are a few elements specific to people in the Pacific Northwest
that I decided to leave in should you be able to draw a generalized insight.

----- Forwarded message from Michael Rasmussen -----

Short Review
If you have students who are junior or senior in high school
and considering college music major strongly encourage them to go.

Longer Review
The event is very casual. If you weren't going to perform (take?) a master
class then just showing up was your entire commitment. Sean Osborn ran a
relaxed event that contained a lot of educational content. His presentations
kept the event springy and energetic.

During Osborn's master class he used his time to teach the audience and
the student simultaneously. He used his feedback to the student as a
launching point for explaining a point of technique. My notes include
placement of tongue, breathing technique, avoiding boredom while getting
the most out of long tones, proper shading of tone (use the fingers over
open tone holes, don't adjust embrochure), use of resonance fingering,
and clarinet to body angle.

In contrast Chris Sereque, principal clarinet of the Seattle Symphony
Orchestra, ran master class sessions that were focused on the student. As an
audience member you were peeking into the fishbowl. Unfortunately for me
Mr. Sereque was soft spoken and I missed almost everything he said.

Even more unfortunately I missed Jennifer Nelson's master class. Judging from
her comments during the evening concert it was an engaging, humorous session.

The evening concert consisted of:

Gerald Finzi - Clarinet Concerto (Sean Osborn, Rhonda Kline piano)
Gordon Jacob - Five Pieces (Jennifer Nelson)
Malcolm Arnold - Sonatina (Osborn, Kline)
Henri Lazarus - Intermediate Duet No. 3 (Osborn and Nelson)
James Waterson - Grand Quartet
(Osborn, Nelson, Florie Rothenberg, Mary Kantor)
The Beatles - When I'm Sixty-Four, with Clarinet Choir participants.

Osborn introduced each piece with historical and musical background. This
include "listen for this" followed by an excerpt. For audience members
unfamiliar with the pieces (yeah, people like me) this deepened the experience.

My favorite for listening was the Lazarus Duet. The quartet provided a
lot of interest in listening to themes being reworked and moving around
the four musicians. My sense of time was distorted during the performance - it
was over much quicker than the listed playing times had me expecting.

A side element was the musicians working around the problem of
condensation. The hall was cool and they needed to swab out their
instruments between movements. Osborn and Nelson also made asides to
the audience about dealing with condensation. This brought some meaning
into what otherwise could have been distracting stage business.

So why have a college bound high school student attend the event? For the
cost of a trip to Seattle (possible to drive home afterwards) and a day's time
the student would gain several benefits. Insights to the level of playing in
the UofW program, an introduction to Osborn's teaching, the actual lessons to
be gleaned from the masters classes, an opportunity to ask UofW students about
the program there, and a day of excellent clarinet music.

For a 50 year old beginner? It was interesting to hear the differences
between the advanced student the and profession. It was even more interesting
to hear, for the first time in my life, live professional solo clarinet from a
distance of twenty feet, though I could have sat closer. The master classes
included elements of such a fundamental level that any player could benefit.

--
Michael Rasmussen, Portland Oregon
Be appropriate && Follow your curiosity
http://www.patch.com/words/
The fortune cookie says:
The only really decent thing to do behind a person's back is pat it.

------------------------------------------------------------------