Musical Toronto’s Robin Roger prepares to join 40 advanced amateur musicians to hone her skills at the Toronto Summer Music Community Academy.
From July 31 to August 7, I’ll be returning to the second Toronto Summer Music Community Academy. A program for advanced amateur musicians, last year it was attended by over 40 players of string, brass, and woodwind instruments, as well as pianists and vocalists whose idea of a good time is to take a week off from their day jobs to work on their musical skills.
The term “Community Academy” needs some explanation. The program could be described as a sibling to the Toronto Summer Music Academy, which consists of the Art of Song Program and the Chamber Music Institute, for young adult professional musicians. These elite musicians come from all over the world to attend the two to four-week program, which overlaps with the Community Academy, and takes place in the same location, the Edward Johnson Building, home of the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. That the word “Community” is what distinguishes the amateur program from the professional one indicates the Festival’s intention to cultivate a group of committed adult music lovers who will have an ongoing connection to the Festival and each other.
According to Artistic Director Douglas MacNabney, offering a learning experience to serious adult amateur musicians has been a mission of the Toronto Summer Music Festival from its inception. “In the very first year of the Festival, our program included chamber music instruction for adult amateurs. It gives me an immense sense of accomplishment to be able to return to our roots and give our supporters an opportunity not only to listen to music but also to play music. It’s a great way to build community.”
There’s no question that for many participants of the inaugural Community Academy, this has been the case. One definition of community, “a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals” perfectly describes the experience, which felt like a musical barn-raising as everyone worked towards the concert which culminated the week of classes. The sense of common musical purpose created a feeling of cheerful industry, as did the sounds of practice in the halls of the Edward Johnson Building. Some participants who are returning shared their sense of accomplishment and musical growth with me recently.
Christina Wolf, who played second violin in the performance of Beethoven opus 18 number six at the final concert last year, is coming back from Vancouver to once again experience getting “more and more into the nuances of the piece, being challenged by bowings, bow speed, dynamics, passing phrases, balance, intonation and stylistic approaches…playing on my personal edge…all within a supporting and positive environment.” Her fellow violinist from her Vancouver Chamber Quartet, Christine Choi, recalls that concert as “one of the few times when I found myself experiencing more enjoyment than nerves. There is an electricity in a performance that cannot be replicated, and I remember feeling an incredible high while sitting on stage, making Beethoven come alive again.” No doubt the fact that she got to perform with TSO violist Eric Nowlin contributed to that high. “It’s always great to play with people who are better than you; one learns so much,” says Choi.
Liz Koester is returning to the Chamber Choir Group to get another week of “working closely with a small group of singers who were all dedicated to making music together as well as we could.” The experience resulted in learning that was much more accelerated than her activities during the year.
“Matthias Maute focused the rehearsals on shaping and colouring the music and added considerably to our understanding of the music with the comments he popped in about history, theory, etc. Although I have been singing in a choir for many years, I feel as though I am still at the beginning of my choral exploration, and I am still very excited to go anywhere it leads!”
Doug Freake, a fellow pianist with me in last year’s Master Class with James Anagnoson who is preparing the first movement of Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata for his performance this year, is returning for several reasons. “By the end of the week I felt more comfortable about performing in front of others and with the piano in general”, he explains, “partly due to Anagnoson’s balance of supportive comments with judicious critique and also because the outstanding comradeship of last year’s group allowed us to open ourselves and display the warts and all of our playing.” I especially share Doug’s last point: the generosity of spirit of the 13 other pianists, all of whom were significantly more advanced and experienced than I am, created a safe haven that made it possible, though not easy, to perform. Sharing this intensive, concentrated experience with a small group of individuals, even though it is only for a week, creates a bond. When I’ve crossed paths with some of my classmates since last summer, at other classes or musical events, I’ve felt a swell of genuine delight and eagerness to know how their playing is progressing. We ranged in age, marital status, sexual orientation, career categories, country of origin, religion, and ethnicity, but having this shared desire to master playing the piano made us more alike than different.
Many of last year’s instructors are also returning, including the TSO’s Shane Kim, Sarah Jeffrey and Eric Nowlin as well as choir master Matthias Maute and others. Kim especially enjoyed teaching adults last year. “Most of my past teaching experience has been with younger children and high school students. The musical conversations take on a different tone, and I can relate to them on a more even level. The main thing I came away with was everyone’s love for music. I realised that in some ways I envy amateur musicians because they play music purely for the joy of it.”
There is another aspect of the Academy that my fellow participants did not mention, which is that it creates a deadline, one of the most powerful motivators known to humankind. By July 31, I have to get my group of Scriabin Preludes ready to perform, which I admit creates pressure, but also requires me to work at aspects of my playing that I might otherwise delay, such as memorization. Music is a joy, but it requires as much discipline and tolerance for error for amateurs as it does for professionals. Meeting the standards of my fellow pianists and offering David Jalbert something good enough to work with are serious responsibilities in my mind. It’s great to be with other people who take music just as seriously.
Applications to the TSMFCA are rolling, and there is still over a month to apply. www.torontosummermusic.com/community-academy
[Correction, June 24: A previous version of this article misspelt Eric Nowlin’s name.]
#LUDWIGVAN
Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and review before anyone else finds out? Get our exclusive newsletter here and follow us on Twitter for all the latest.
