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Author: Fontalvo
Date: 2007-08-12 22:58
Hey, did any of you attend the buffet academy???? If you did can you post any little knowledge that you acquired??? Thanks
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Author: dnxlbruin
Date: 2007-08-13 04:48
The academy lasted from Monday through Friday (though most of us arrived Sunday night and left on Saturday morning). We registered at the University of North Florida's Fine Arts Center (the facilities were very nice), where UF's Mitch Estrin greeted us with a Buffet "goodie" bag- a box of individual packaged V12s, Nuccio's new Brahms and Mozart quintet CD, W. Bloom's bass clarinet CD, buffet school supplies, a buffet lanyard, 3 Rico Reserve boxes, a rico reed revitalizer case, a buffet cap, a buffet pin, buffet posters and catalogs, and rico and vandoren catalogs. After that, we checked into our dorm rooms and had Sunday night off.
Each morning we had breakfast at 9am-10am and started warm up class at 10 and lasted an hour; each faculty member held the warm up class for each day (Monday: Lawrie Bloom; Tuesday: Mark Nuccio; Wednesday: Ronald Van Spaendonck; Thursday: Pascual Martinez-Forteza; Friday: Greg Raden). Each artist would give his own perspective of warming up before playing- Mark, Lawrie, and Pascual emphasized a lot of long tone exercises, Ronald did a great lecture on fast finger exercises and staccato tounging as well as playing flexibility, and Greg focused on reeds. From 11am-1pm we alternated each day with chamber music classes with Guy Yehuda, visiting the Buffet-Crampon North American Distribution Center, and maintenance classes with Francois Kloc and Bruce Marking (this was an amazing experience, as they not only offered to help fix the crack in my friend's horn but teach her how to do it herself as they guided her). We learned how to properly remove the keys from our horns and clean the keys and tone holes in the upper and lower joints. From 3pm-5pm we had an hour to practice and an hour lesson from each faculty member (these lessons could be on anything we wanted and definitely was a once in a lifetime deal). From 5pm-6pm we had a masterclass with the artists who alternated days (Monday: Pascual, Tuesday: Greg, Wednesday: Lawrie, Thursday: Mark, Friday: Rondald).
The nights were filled with different activities which included a party at a local clubhouse on monday night; a recital by Ashley Reagle, the winner of Buffet's Young Artist Competition (a very fine young player!); 2 concert nights of solos from the students which were broken up into new works and standard rep; and a faculty concert on the last day.
The entire academy consisted of 20 members (from UF, FSU, NEC, BU, Oberlin, CCM, Northwestern, Mcgill, UCLA, and SFCM). For the amount we paid I felt that we received top notch training and had an excellent overall experience. Being the first year that Buffet had this academy, I can see the level of competition for getting in rising very much considering what we got out of the experience. Everyone in the academy left very happy, I believe, and I met people who have definitely inspired me- the buffet employees, the faculty artists, and other students.
Post Edited (2007-08-13 05:31)
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Author: Aaron
Date: 2007-08-13 23:44
Did all of the students play Buffet? Was it a requisite?
Aaron M
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Author: dnxlbruin
Date: 2007-08-14 23:37
One of my good friends from the academy played on Leblancs. During our clarinet basic repair and maintenance class, he approached Francois Kloc with an issue about his horn. Francois took the instrument from his hands and noticing that he had owned Leblancs, proceeded to cure the problem with a Bic... on the Concerto II's wood grain.
Just kidding. Of course we all joked about the "rival horn," but there was no sense of treason. Everyone else in the academy had a Buffet, and one of the real treats of the academy was that we were able to try out their entire lineup- from the vintage to tosca.
Here is a link to Buffet's news page, which includes daily updates of the academy and some accompanying pictures: http://www.buffet-crampon.com/en/news.php
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2007-08-15 00:07
Thanks Axel,
Great review, and great question Fontalvo!
Now, if only I was young enough to attend!
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: SavvyClarinet
Date: 2007-08-15 01:22
I had an amazing time at the academy! dnxlbruin described it perfectly! It was amazing to be able to work closely with and hear the faculty play - it definitely inspired me! I filled up half a notebook with not only advice from the faculty, but hints and tips from the other students. It was a clarinetist's heaven to be around so many passionate players who knew what you were talking about. I loved how each student got to play in the recitals. It was a treat to hear such a variety of famous clarinet literature all at once! The hardest part was going back to high school to face those who don't practice or care. Hopefully, I will make it again next year. It really was the experience of a lifetime!
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