 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: London Silas Shavers
Date: 2001-07-27 18:07
July 25, 2001
Dearest Friends, Family and Members of the Clarinet
Community,
Greetings from the Western Michigan University School
of Music! I have returned from France and excited to
be back on American soil and the Western Michigan
University campus. I believe that it is my duty to
share with you my experience with the Institute
Musical de Provence-Aubagne and to alert you about
this program.
The Institute Musical de Provence-Aubange (IMPA)
(http://www.impamusic.com) overall was a great
disappointment. Upon my arrival on Saturday, July 7,
2001, due to blatant negligence on the part of IMPA, I
was not received at the airport. I did not receive an
answer to my numerous telephone call attempts because
the IMPA telephones were unplugged because of a Jewish
religious practice. IMPA failed to inform
participants and appoint someone to effectively handle
this matter. The seminar was terribly organized and
the directors too often displayed a baffling level of
unprofessional conduct towards the needs and requests
of the musicians involved. The gambit of
disorganization included a rehearsal/concert schedule
that was never honored to inadequate housing
situations. There were improper handling of collected
monetary deposits and major discrepancies in dispersal
practices. (During the program, we all found out that
none of the French players placed deposits, only the
American and British musicians, and those often
included discrepancies from the contracted $500 USD
deposit.) There was also a lack of compensation for
Kosher dietary disagreements, poor means of
transportation to and from rehearsals, lodgings, and
concerts and the lack of alternate performance options
for outdoor concerts for extreme heat, inclimate, and
cold night weather. The Institute failed to provide a
25-piece chamber orchestra comprised (which convinced
me to perform) of graduate level performers. The
Institute failed to send out music, as contracted, one
month before the seminar and failed to reimburse me
for purchasing my individual parts of the music. It
also did not present a professional performance
environment due to the young age and mediocrity of
some musicians selected to play in the chamber
orchestra. The majority of the orchestra’s problems
stemmed from intonation problems, lack of music
preparation, student conductors’ lack of knowledge of
the score, and Yves Cohen’s constant use of negative
reinforcement towards his conducting students.
Nonetheless, I remained focused and attempted to
salvage the most positive and musically satisfying
experience I could from this program. Some positive
aspects included the music program, which included
such works as Mozart’s Overture to Cosi Fan Tutte and
Mendelsohn’s fourth Symphony and my first opportunity
for international performance. Some of the cities
that we played included Aubagne, Carnoux-en-Provence,
Marseilles, and Saint-Remy, were Old European and
breathtaking and the people were so appreciative of
the music. I was also able to observe and learned
things that should not be done as both a conductor and
as an educator. To strive for that perfect balance of
negative and positive reinforcement towards any
ensemble will be a personal challenge to conquer as a
conductor during the upcoming semester. In addition,
having the opportunity to get a small amount of
conducting time, I was able to demonstrate options of
getting certain results from the ensemble. During
free times, having discussion of issues with both
American and French conducting students, allowed for
the exchange of ideas, in which, I picked up on some
pretty good approaches to score study technique. On
my final day, a good friend and his family, who really
gave me genuine French cultural experiences, hosted
me. Most importantly, I made American and
International musician contacts that made this program
bearable, and could lead to more fruitful performance
opportunities and collaborations in the near future.
Therefore, in conclusion, an opportunity for
professional advancement and international exposure
must always be embraced with high expectations.
Although IMPA did not live up to any of the advertised
standards, it was definitely a learning experience.
In the future, I will research any national or
international music program of interest more
extensively and will refrain from participating in any
music program without a printed brochure, not attached
to a National Association of Schools of Music
accredited College or University, and it must be
registered with the catalogue of International Music
Festivals.
Respectfully,
London Silas Shavers
=====
London Silas Shavers, B.M.E., M.M.
Graduate Clarinet Assistant Western Michigan University School of
Music, 1413 Dalton Center Kalamazoo MI, 49008 (616)387-4667
Http://www.reedsaus.com.au/fcut.htm
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