Each day was filled with music -- both playing and watching -- beginning with a Repertoire class taught by Michael McLean. He threw everyone (including the Institute director) for a loop this year by introducing his own composition (gasp! Mr. Suzuki likely rolled over in his grave!) that was well beyond Isabelle's reading and playing ability. She was a trooper however and learned several phrases, all of the bowings, and even a good portion of the song (playing just an open string when beyond her ability); thus, truly smiling through a difficult experience and ending in triumph by being able to perform it in the final evening's recital! This was a tremendous accomplishment.
Isabelle was one of the younger ones (she's the little one in front with the cute skirt :-) in this lumped-together group of advanced violinists. It was a great experience for her to be surrounded by some accomplished musicians at her young age -- all of them encouraging and trying their hardest to please Mr. McLean with his passionate zeal for speed and life in their playing.
From that imposing setting and teacher, the girls (Sarah was with us for the week for Institute making it a double blessing!) headed across campus for their "Technique" class taught by the tiny experienced Japanese native Mihoko Hirata. This class focused on the small intricacies of the violin and bow itself and we came away with several good ideas to put into place this forthcoming year to further develop the skills needed to play beautifully.
The final class of the morning is called a "Master Class" and is a unique experience for your student to sit under another teacher for a 15-20 minute mini-lesson. The hour for Isabelle was shared with 2 other students and was a great opportunity to not only glean valuable suggestions from a different teacher, but also listen to the skills and suggestions for two of your peers in the same class. Isabelle was privileged to have Corin Lee (an accomplished musician, national performer, and Juilliard graduate) as her Master Class teacher. This hour was one of her favorite throughout the day.
Lunchtime brought picnicking with old and new friends and a welcome reprieve from holding a violin for nearly three hours straight. Isabelle really enjoyed getting to know new people (as did I) as well as sharing this experience with established friends. She doesn't know an enemy and really has a way with people -- young and old! What a gift from the Lord!! Each day after lunch was an opportunity to hear peers, professionals, and alumni students play during an Honors Recital. I noticed that this served as naptime for several of the faculty :-) It is an hour to both inspire and encourage the students from beginning Twinklers to advanced teens.
Without a doubt, the highlight of Isabelle's day was her one hour drumming class! She loved this the last time she attended an Institute and this year it was her favorite class. With an enthusiastic teacher, the kids learn various rhythms using drum sticks on buckets while sitting on buckets. These rhythms are then played alone or with music. It's a great way to reinforce timing, rhythm, and simple coordination skills. It was a lot of fun and I think Isabelle had a smile on her face through much of the hour!
On Friday, all of the enrichment classes (Isabelle also enjoyed an hour of choir each afternoon -- another favorite!) gave a short recital to show off their skills and what was learned. They did great and had a lot of fun in the process!
Our day began and ended in the same recital hall under the direction of the same passionate teacher! This time though, the class was Intermediate Orchestra. The kids did a beautiful job learning a Bach piece as a stringed orchestra. They performed this Thursday evening alongside the chamber groups and Advanced orchestra. It is a tremendous opportunity for Isabelle to play with a group as strings, in general, are so much more pleasing to the ear when played together :-) The sound was impressive, especially when occasionally accompanied by the massive pipe organ behind them!
It was a long week with unusual weather (rain for two solid days followed by nearly triple digit temperatures!). There were early bedtimes and early awake times (milking the goats at 6:00 a.m.). The entire family came alongside to pitch in and care for animals, gardens, home, meals, laundry (thank you Isaac!) as the ladies were away all day long :-) We are so thankful for the experience however, and walk into the next academic year with new skills, new friends, and new zeal for learning and performing! As always, I'm thanking God for these great opportunities to learn and grow alongside my children. Is there any job better than this???
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