Category: Workshops

Meet Cello Mentor Oliver Herbert

Post author By Lolly Lewis
Post date February 22, 2022
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AMN’s Six Suites in Six Weeks series will kick off with Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 and noted soloist Oliver Herbert. This charismatic young artist is taking the world by storm!

It’s AMN’s great good fortune that Oliver can be in San Francisco on March 8 to bring us his own personal take on the first suite. He has performed all the suites, and coincidentally just performed No. 1 recently at the Lied Center in Lawrence, Kansas. So he’s ready to get into the nuts and bolts of his approach with us at the workshop.

Oliver met with AMN founder Lolly Lewis via Zoom recently, and they talked about his affection for this music and how he has been working to explore it so deeply. Take a look and then join us on May 8!

ATTEND ONLINE

Online participants will be part of the conversation, adding questions and comments in real time. And all registered participants will receive a video link to the workshop recording.

$100 for six sessions, $20 for single sessions

DATES, TIMES, AND TOPICS

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 1 – Oliver Herbert

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 5 – Robert Howard

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 2 – Jean-Michel Fonteneau

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 6 – William Skeen

Tuesday, April 5, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 4 – Bonnie Hampton

Tuesday, April 12, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 3 – Stephen Harrison

Early Music and Period Instruments Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass Talking about Music Workshops

Bach Cello Suites

What is it about the Bach cello suites that draws us in so deeply? AMN Founder Lolly Lewis asked several of our mentors why they thought that was, and got a wide variety of answers! Some felt it’s because the sound of the cello corresponds so closely to the human voice. Some thought it was the character of the solo music: introspective and intimate. Maybe there isn’t any one answer but Lewis says that for her, hearing any of those preludes is like opening the door into a new universe of sound. Kind of like smelling an amazing rose; the vivid and evocative fragrance just transports you.

In our series, Six Suites in Six Weeks, you’ll meet six professional cellists who will each share one of the suites in an hour-long session of playing and conversation. You’ll learn about the music in up-close and intimate encounters with these artists’ interpretive process and personal musical experiences.

Our cellists come from all walks of musical life. Some are active solo artists, others are performers and teachers, some are orchestra players – and all of them play and love the Bach suites and have lived with them for years. Each brings his or her unique sensibility to the music and, remarkably, each continues to find new inspiration every time they revisit these works.

We know you’ll be inspired, too!

ATTEND ONLINE

Online participants will also be able to be part of the conversation, adding questions and comments.

$100 for six sessions, $20 for single sessions

DATES, TIMES, AND TOPICS

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 1 – Oliver Herbert

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 5 – Robert Howard

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 2 – Jean-Michel Fonteneau

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 6 – William Skeen

Tuesday, April 5, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 4 – Bonnie Hampton

Tuesday, April 12, 2022 | 5:30 p.m. Pacific

Suite no. 3 – Stephen Harrison

AMN mentors Vocal and Choral Music Workshops

Meet voice mentor Dashon Burton

Post author By Lolly Lewis
Post date January 27, 2022
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Who doesn’t want advice from a GRAMMY® winner! We know we all do, and we’re so thrilled to have the stellar artist Dashon Burton joining in a musical conversation with two local professional singers who will offer their talents in styles that are new to them. We hope that an exploration of new genres will spark a vibrant conversation that we can all learn from.

Dashon won in the Best Classical Solo Vocal Album category, featured as a soloist on the album The Prison, the premiere recording of Ethel Smyth’s (1858–1944) last major work.

In 2013 and 2015 Dashon was nominated as part of the ensemble Roomful of Teeth for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, winning in 2013 for the album Roomful of Teeth.

Leandra Ramm and Chung-Wai Soong are San Francisco-based professional singers who are channeling their inner amateur to explore music in new styles. They will bring their talents and love of learning to AMN’s master class and conversation with Dashon Burton on February 7, 2022. We look forward to a lively and energizing session together!

AMN founder Lolly Lewis chats with Leandra and Chung-Wai in this preview video.

A video message from Dashon: “What I do as a classical singer.”

Listen to Dashon in performance!

AMN mentors Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass Workshops

Meet Violinist Lulu Starr

Post author By Lolly Lewis
Post date January 12, 2022
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Growing up in a classical music family in the SF Bay Area, Lulu Starr found a circuitous path to her roots in Eastern European music.

After spending years playing Romanian, Hungarian and Balkan folk music on the streets of New Orleans, Lulu traveled to Eastern Europe and the Balkans to learn the music she loved, directly from the greatest living folk musicians. Over the years, she and some colleagues formed the band Taraf de Akácfa (pictured) and Lulu eventually settled down in Budapest, Hungary, where she could stay close to the source of the music she was passionate about.

It was only recently that she found out her great grandparents were from Moldova and Romania!

Now Lulu wants to share the love of traditional music of Romania with you! Join us for a workshop on January 22 and learn an authentic Geamparale with Lulu Starr!

AMN founder Lolly Lewis chats with Lulu about her path of discovery of this amazing music tradition in this preview video.

Listen to Lulu and Taraf de Akácfa perform the Geamparale.

Community Vocal and Choral Music Workshops

Family Sing!

Singing: the best way to celebrate the holidays. And what could be better than singing with friends and family? Singing is the most joyous way to ring out the old year and look forward to the new, to gather with loved ones and share our deepest humanity through song.

This year, we can sing together again, and using what we’ve learned over the past year, Amateur Music Network has devised a way to sing with friends and family near – and far — using a hybrid model that allows participation either in-person or on Zoom! We’re partnering with San Francisco Girls Chorus to present Family Sing: A Holiday Choral Sing-Along at the Kanbar Performing Arts Center (44 Page Street in San Francisco) and online on December 22, 2021 at 5:30 p.m.

This warm and welcoming choral experience, led by SFGC’s dynamic Artistic Director Valérie Sainte-Agathe, will feature some of your favorite holiday music, and even a couple of new carols to learn. The event is perfect for adults and for children ages 12 and up.

If you have little ones in tow, bring them along, too! SFGC will host a fun sing-along event just for kids ages 5-11, while the adults enjoy an hour of choral singing.

What about the rest of the family? Maybe grandparents or other dear ones don’t live nearby or can’t attend in person. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered: you can join us online via Zoom and we’ll all sing together. All will hear our hearty chorus and feel the connection that only music can create, even across great distances.

So, get the shopping done, get the presents wrapped, and join in with loved ones near and far, to lift your voice in celebration of the holidays.