Letter from Boston
Applying To Music Camp
By MASAKO YAMADA
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ミュージック・キャンプ
今年の夏休みをどう過ごそうかと考えていた雅子さんは、母校ウェルズリー大学でのサマーキャンプならぬ「ミュージックキャンプ」のプログラムを知りました。雅子さんが強く興味を引かれ、申込を決めたこの1週間の音楽プログラムの内容は…?
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In college, summer vacation seemed the perfect time to pad one's resume (and
pay the bills) by taking on an impressive-sounding research job,
internship or part-time job. This was supposed to lead to a better job or
graduate school placement after college.
My peers in graduate school do not spend their vacations in this way.
Since they are presumably already doing what they want to be doing, they
keep on doing it!! That said, most of the members in my group do take at
least some time off during winter vacation and summer break. Most of my peers
are from foreign countries and they like to go back to the Old Country
during long vacations.
Since I grew up here — and my parents live only four hours away by car — I
don't feel the need to take long vacations back home. On the other hand,
paying lots of money to be a tourist in a foreign place for a few days
doesn't appeal to me much either. I recently encountered the
near-impossible, however: the perfect summer vacation plan. It is to attend
music camp at my former alma mater.
My Alexander Technique teacher, Laura, is also an avid amateur
musician. She often tells me about the chamber music groups in which she's
played. On more than one occasion, she's brought up a particular music
festival held at Wellesley during the summer. It is a festival in which the
works of present-day composers are played by professional musicians. These
professional musicians, in turn, coach amateur musicians. Laura has been
coached every year for 15 years. She said that many of the other participants
are also well-seasoned regulars: I guessed this much by reading that players
under 40 can apply for "young musician" scholarships!!
I was intrigued by this program and decided to apply. Many of my friends who
have devoted themselves to music have participated in much more intensive
professional summer music programs. However, this program is especially for
amateurs and it's only a week long. The participants are people who have jobs
unrelated to music, but they use precious vacation time to pursue this
interest. Laura has told me that she stays in contact with the other
participants during the year as well, and this attracted me.
The schedule consists of two or three practice sessions during the day
and informal parties and concerts in the evening. Participants eat all meals
together and sleep in the Wellesley College dorms. They can use the
Wellesley College facilities — music rooms, health club, lakefront beach —
during their free time. It sounds like a combi
nation of college and summer camp, and the combination sounds good to me.
The application was a simple one consisting of two recommendations, an
audition and a short essay on personal music background. I asked my current
piano teacher and a former chamber music coach for recommendations.
The recommendation letters I received when applying to college and graduate
school were shrouded in dark mystery — a sealed opaque envelope — but both
of these teachers showed me what they had written and asked me whether the
content was "good enough." This would have surprised me before, but
prepping superiors to give good recommendations seems to be a common thing,
and I was interested in seeing what they had to say.
They were flattering letters, but I've heard that it's impossible for a
teacher not to give a good recommendation. Teachers who cannot write a good
recommenda
tion usually decline when asked to give one. Since references are highly
regarded in the States, it makes me wonder how they can ever be used to
judge people.
I suppose a more objective test of ability is the audition. My audition
hasn't been scheduled yet, but my chamber music coach knows the piano judge
and told me that he's a very nice, capable musician. I'm not afraid of not
being good enough for this program, but I do know that I tend to get nervous
when playing in front of other people. I hope I can use this connection as an
ice-breaker, to loosen up the atmosphere. After all, I think it's the
perfect vacation for me.
Shukan ST: March 19, 1999
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