Young Chamber Musicians
Susan Bates, Creator/Director
youngchambermusic@sbcglobal.net
Donate to this program
Young Chamber Musicians provides exciting educational chamber music experiences for string players and pianists ages 14-20. Through coaching, performance, master classes, concert attendance and competitive participation, the program creates a variety of chamber music training experience and exposure to renowned musical mentors.
Purpose
The Young Chamber Musicians Program is based on the vision that the study of chamber music is an essential component in the education of a performing musician.
The purpose of the program is to expose developing young artists - our next generation of performers - to the benefits and the joys of a challenging chamber music experience, guiding their development as interpreters, performers and cultural leaders.
The study and performance of chamber music is a complete recipe for musical development; simultaneously building skill, musical imagination and cooperation like no other single musical endeavor. It is also a microcosm of professional life; and, particularly for those who are technically mature at a young age, chamber music offers a portal to a higher understanding of music, culture and the art of working with others.
Programming
The Program unites young musicians with renowned musical artists to ensure that the legacy of musical performance and the understanding of the great works are passed from generation to generation. The program places well-matched young musicians in a schedule tailored to its participants. Coaching occurs weekly for 90 minutes per group throughout the academic year. Working in collaboration with the Music at Kohl Mansion, the program also offers master classes; seminars on musical style and culture, and admission to professional concerts. Special projects include short duration, themed chamber music activities. _
Young Chamber Musicians was founded to address the needs of young musicians who are ready and eager for a deeper exposure to great musical works - past and present. The Program is led by long-standing SFBA educator, Susan Bates with guest appearances of dedicated chamber music artists from the Bay Area and afar.
Young Chamber Musicians wishes to thank Music at Kohl Mansion, the Podelsnick Family and all YCM supporters, for their dedication to young musicians and collaboration with Young Chamber Musicians.
Leadership
YCM Creator and Director, violist Susan Bates, holds the 1992 award for “Excellence in Chamber Music Training” from Chamber Music America. For over 25 years, she has trained numerous young chamber musicians who are now pursuing careers as professional musicians and playing chamber music “for the love of it”.
Susan Bates is a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division (1983-present); San Domenico School Virtuoso Program, San Anselmo, (1981-1983/2006-present), and Midwest Young Artists, Chicago, Illinois (2001-2009).
She is the creator of four chamber music education programs for highly talented musical youth - San Francisco Conservatory of Music Prep Chamber Music Program (Coordinator, 1983-2000), California Summer Music (1996-2000); and, the Lake Tahoe Music Festival Academy with the Miró Quartet (2000-2006). _ In 2010, Ms. Bates retired from the viola section of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra after 34 years.
.
Projects 2011-2012
Young Chamber Musicians is proud to present two outstanding string quartets this year.
Elara Quartet - Lily Tsai, Christy Chen, NaYeon Kim, Stephanie Tsai
The Elara Quartet will study and perform works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, and Philip Glass. The Elara Quartet has been accepted into the Mondavi Center Young Artist Competition 2012.
Mandala Quartet - Ethan Tsai, Kathleen Chen, Clara Chan, Eunice Kim
The Mandala Quartet will study and perform works by Schubert, Borodin, Mozart, and Shostakovich.
This year's YCM students come from the studios of Susan Bates, Wei He, Li Lin, and Jonathan Koh. Young Chamber Musicians wishes to thank these outstanding instructors for their assistance and participation.
Master Classes (free to the public)
In partnership with Music at Kohl Mansion the Elara and Mandala Quartets will attend performances (sponsored by Carlstrom Productions Inc.) and participate in master classes given by these professional artists:
October 16, 2011 5:00PM
CAVANI STRING QUARTET at Kohl Mansion
February 26, 2012 5:00PM
CYPRESS STRING QUARTET at Kohl Mansion
March, 2012 TBA
AFIARA QUARTET at Kohl Mansion
The BORROMEO PROJECT 2012
March 28 Rehearsal with the Borromeo String Quartet
March 29 Performance at 3:00 PM (free), Koret Auditorium, San Francisco Public Library Main Branch sponsored by SF Friends of Chamber Music
April 1 Performance at 5:00PM(free), Music at Kohl Mansion, Kohl Mansion, Burlingame, California
The Borromeo Project is a collaboration of the Borromeo String Quartet, Young Chamber Musicians; and, San Francisco Bay Area partners, Music at Kohl Mansion, and San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music. The project is multi-faceted and designed to provide an unusual and exciting chamber music experience for four YCM students, giving them the opportunity to study and perform the unpublished 1825 version of the Mendelssohn Octet with the Borromeo String Quartet reading from the composer's original hand displayed on a laptop computer. The Program will also attract an array of SFBA audiences - listeners, performers, students, adult amateurs, and scholars.
Young Chamber Musicians Quartet
for the Borromeo Project
Yujin Ariza, violin - Ethan Tsai, violin,
TBA, viola - Jeremy Kwong, cello
Hear Nicholas Kitchen talk about the Octet and the technology the Borromeo String Quartet uses to perform it.
A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the scanner—an article in Chamber Music America by Judith Logan (please download the PDF)
Past Projects
In 2010 – 2011, two string quartets dominated the YCM calendar.
The Bartok Quartet (Alexi Kenney, Reina Murooka, Allie Simpson, Stephanie Tsai) studied the Finale of the Bartok Quartet #1, performing for the Miró Quartet in master class before an audience of 50 at Kohl Mansion. Later, (Tim Yu, Christy Chen, NaYeon Kim, Eunice Kim) another quartet performed Shostakovich and Dvorak for the Daedalus Quartet in a master class held at the San Mateo Public Library, again in collaboration with Music at Kohl Mansion and sponsored by San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.
In May 2011, Young Chamber Musicians and Music at Kohl Mansion joined again to produce a chamber music concert, May 22 that featured YCM string quartets and a guest appearance of the Luna Trio.
In January 2009, Young Chamber Musicians contributed to the celebration of the birth of Mendelssohn with a project entitled, “Genius and Youth – the Mendelssohn Octet for Strings, Op. 20”. The daylong experience brought eight accomplished teen-age string players into the world of the 16-year-old prodigy to celebrate this monumental work on the 200th year of his birth. Participants included: Zenas Hsu, Alexi Kenney, Eunice Kim, Kenneth Renshaw, Allie and Christina Simpson, Will Chow, Tessa Seymour. The event, led by Susan Bates and noted violinist, Ian Swensen was held at the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library.
In the spring of 2009, Brahms Sextets were again the theme. The guest artist was Angela Choong, violist – the Hausmann Quartet who took Lily Tsai, Alexi Kenney, Allie Simpson and Eunice Kim through a reading of both sextets in one afternoon!
Two other Young Chamber Musicians student ensembles in 2009-2010 dedicated their year to the exploration of French chamber music. A trio of students (Alyssa Wang, Winston Young, Tessa Seymour performed with violinist/coach Jory Fankuchen to study and perform the Ravel String Quartet; while noted pianist, Miles Graber partnered with students Stella Chen and Tessa Seymour to produce the Ravel Piano Trio. Both works were heard in a Finale Concert in May.
In 2008, on a warm Sunday afternoon, a sextet of Young Chamber Musicians (Eunice Kim, Christie Lopez, Morgan O’Shaughnessy, Ivo Bolvik, Tessa Seymour, Jasmine Lau) gathered in a Pacific Heights home for a “Chamber Music Reading” in honor of the birthday of Tchaikovsky and Brahms, May 3rd. Led by Susan Bates, string players ages 13-19 explored and performed the Souvenir de Florence of Tchaikovsky and the Op. 18 Brahms Sextet for parents and friends.
In June 2008, a YCM string quartet joined two pianists who shared the reading of the Brahms Piano Quintet. The daylong experience was hosted in a Forest Hill home and led by pianist, David Gross.
|
