The DaPonte String Quartet is accepting applications to its annual three-day Quartet Workshop, Sept. 21-23, for high school string players at Camp Kieve’s Wavus campus in Jefferson this September.
Every year since 2001, the quartet has mentored aspiring young players in Maine, and as of last year, from urban schools out of state, at the camp, at no cost to students, according to a news release from the Friends of the DaPonte String Quartet.
The event is dedicated to the study of chamber music, its preparation and performance, through the works of the string quartet literature.
Twenty students, selected by audition, are organized into five string quartets. They are coached in the round by the individual members of the DaPonte String Quartet, violinists Lydia Forbes, Ferdinand Liva, violist Kirsten Monke and cellist Myles Jordan.
The coaching sessions focus on the elements of ensemble playing: listening, communication, cueing, rhythm, intonation, blending, and theory and music history. A concert will presented by all the students for parents and friends at the end of the workshop. For some, this is a student’s first exposure to playing chamber music, and it is an experience that will stay with them for a lifetime.
Last year the quartet implemented a long-held goal of inviting string players from urban performing arts schools outside Maine to participate, in order to broaden the experience for all students. Their travel costs are largely underwritten by the Friends of the DaPonte String Quartet. The cost of food and lodging for all students is made possible by an endowment created by the Kennedy family, founders of Camp Kieve, in 2001.
The application deadline is June 15. To apply, visit DaPonte.com.
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