Letter from Boston Music and More By MASAKO YAMADA	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
音楽に加えて… 今年の夏は音楽をやろうと心に決めていた雅子さん。ニューイングランド音楽学校が提供する初心者向けの室内楽演奏のサマーコースプログラムに参加しました。楽器演奏のほかにヨガや大極拳などのレッスンもあり、一風変わったプログラムのようです。雅子さんは個性的な参加者たちと大好きな音楽を楽しんでいます。

I had heard quite a bit about an interesting chamber music camp to be held at my alma mater, Wellesley College, and I had been looking forward to it for months. I even wrote about applying. However, while I was waiting for information on my audition date, I got a letter saying that the camp was already full with repeat visitors.

I had already set my heart on doing chamber music, so I decided to check out the summer school catalog of the New England Conservatory. Of course, I didn't want to take conservatory-level lessons, but I knew that even the lessons for amateurs were likely to be good, since the large conservatory is a magnet for musicians from all around New England.

Sure enough, one of the featured programs in the summer school curriculum was a chamber music program for amateurs, and the explanation really caught my eye. Not only were they offering traditional chamber music lessons, but introductory lessons in yoga, tai chi, acting and Alexander Technique!! These supplementary lessons were to help us play better. I believe the organizer included them so that we could play with more "soul," but it was enough to think that they might help me overcome my physical stiffness.

There were two sessions of this program, and I decided to sign up for both of them. I'm currently in the first week of the second session. The participants in the first session were a most interesting bunch. The youngest student was just entering high school and the oldest student was well beyond "a certain age." I had played chamber music in college with my peers, but this was something completely different.

The teachers were also interesting. All of the alternative therapy teachers were musicians, and they seemed to understand the physical problems that a lot of the students were having. Some of the teachers had played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, so the musical side was covered too.

The organizer told us that her husband had died recently, at a relatively young age, and she realized that music was one of the few things that made her feel alive. She wanted to investigate where this feeling came from and share some of what she learned. All of this potentially could have fallen into empty talk, but, thankfully, the music lessons were solid.

Our coach was not only a certified yoga teacher, she was also a backup member of the BSO and a mother and wife!! I could tell that she had studied hard to be a good teacher, since her comments were never harsh, but never condescendingly cheerful either.

I really liked the other group members as well. It's really hard to beat a group that has a talented high school girl, a hippieish middle-aged man (he wore a Hawaiian print shirt even to our final concert), a local middle-aged Boston woman and a postdoc at the Harvard School of Public Health. Not only was the variety interesting, but the players were more or less of the same level, so it was easy to play together.

One of the highlights of the program was the master class with Benjamin Zander. He is a well-known local conductor who does excellent work helping students and amateurs grow. The event was advertised in the local papers, and lots of guests showed up.

It was during this class that I first heard some of the other groups perform. Most of them were quite impressive, but what I found really impressive was how much Zander could teach in a couple of hours. His charisma and pointed advice amazed me. I spent most of the evening on the edge of my seat and at some points I almost fell out of it, laughing.

I think the three-week sessions are much too short to really understand a piece (with only two short lessons a week), but it's amazing how much a group can grow during that time. By the time the final concert rolled around, we were playing our "Trout" Quintet quite well. I felt at ease during the concert, even though a lot of my friends were in the audience.

I noticed that while some of the groups were near professional level, some could barely hit their notes. It highlighted the wide range of what it means to be an "amateur." As Benjamin Zander said, the word doesn't really say much about proficiency, but it does say that you love what you do.

Shukan ST: Aug. 6, 1999

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