Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Tut Tut, it looks like Rain...

Characteristic of New England weather, last week's heat wave was quickly traded for gray days filled with scattered thunder storms and lightning-filled skies. Luckily the storms never became too severe, however, and the rain certainly didn't keep the BUTI campus quiet! The students of the String Quartet Workshop gave their first recital on Saturday afternoon at Trinity Church. The five quartets, composed of students who had known each other for only one week, beautifully performed works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Schubert.

Saturday evening, Mike Roylance, Director of the Tuba/Euphonium Workshop, gave a fabulous Faculty Recital featuring himself as well as fellow tubists Robert Carpenter, Zachary deVries, and Claude Kashnig, with Ling Leng accompanying on piano. They performed works by Telemann, Aron Romhanyi, Bernstein, Edward J. Madden, Hindemith, and John Williams, ending the recital with a rousing low brass version of the Bayerische Polka!

On Sunday afternoon a group of students took a 2.5 mile hike up Mount October in Lee, MA. That evening the BUTI students also attended their first concert at the Tanglewood Maingrounds- a performance by Yo-Yo Ma and Silk Road Ensemble at Seiji Ozawa Hall where we heard everything from Chinese folk songs to Turkish dances to traditional Indian tunes. Called "a cornucopia of musical ideas...featuring instrumental and vocal artists of almost unimaginable virtuosity" (Seattle Times), the Silk Road Ensemble put on an absolutely wonderful performance. Yo-Yo Ma spoke to the audience about the magnificent collaboration, both instrumentally and culturally, that the ensemble exhibited and how the Silk Road Ensemble was actually "born" on the stage of Seiji Ozawa Hall twelve years earlier.

Yesterday's wonderful Faculty Assistant Recital featured Danby Cho, Assistant Director of the Clarinet Workshop, as well as Thomas Weston, clarinet; Ona Jonaityte, flute; Ben Fox, oboe; Kaitlin Fry, bassoon; Samantha Benson, horn; Lauren Woo, soprano; and Heeyeon Chi, piano. The performance took place in the West Street Theatre on the BUTI campus and featured works by Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, and a sextet by Francis Poulenc.

Tonight's Faculty Recital featured Director of the Saxophone Workshop Kenneth Radnofsky. Professor Radnofsky separated his recital into three parts: "Music and Myth"; "Music and Grief"; and "Music and Dance". He spoke about the power of musical expression and its ability to convey emotion even without the use of text. He performed works by Claude Debussy, Benjamin Britton, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Maurice Ravel, Paul Bonneau, and a commissioned piece by Goran Daskalov. Jessie Lo accompanied on piano.


Click the link below to view photos from the weekend events!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buti2012/






Friday, June 22, 2012

A Fabulous First Week

With temperatures soaring over 90 degrees, the BUTI students powered through the heat wave that has been looming over Lenox for the past few days, and successfully completed their first full week of workshops! On Tuesday evening, Terry Everson, Director of the Trumpet Workshop, gave a recital on "The Art of the Sonata" featuring various sonatas by Bohuslav Martinu, Harold Shapero, Robert Suderburg, and Halsey Stevens. Shiela Kibbe accompanied on piano. With a Wednesday evening free of performances, some the students took part in the Student Life Staff planned Walmart trip- grabbing those select items they may have left behind. Thursday night's faculty recital featured the Muir String Quartet (Peter Zazofsky and Lucia Lin, violins; Steven Ansell, viola; and Michael Reynolds, cello) where they performed works by Mozart and Beethoven.

On Friday night, some students took part in the trip to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival where we saw the Bill Evans Dance Company perform on the gorgeous "Inside/Out" outdoor stage. Even with a thunderstorm warning forecast, the rains held off with only a light sprinkle adding to the beautiful and natural atmosphere of the performance. After the dance numbers, Bill Evans joined the dancers onstage for a short Q&A where audience members participated in learning more about the company, the choreography, and the inspiration behind Evans's performed works: "Naturescape Unfolding" and "Round Seven".

After a long week of hard work, the BUTI students are surely looking forward to their first free weekend! With hikes, yoga classes, basketball tournaments and more planned- not to mention the Tanglewood performances and String Quartet Workshop Recital on Saturday afternoon- it is sure to be an exciting and fun-filled weekend! Check in soon for pictures from the weekend events as well as individual student workshops!

Click the link below to check out photos from this week's faculty recitals and the trip to Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buti2012/




Monday, June 18, 2012

BUTI is alive with the sounds of music...

Today the practice sheds were filled with the sounds of pianos, oboes, euphoniums and more as the students entered their first full day of workshops, masterclasses, and daily practice routines. This evening the students enjoyed a marvelous faculty recital at Trinity Church featuring Eric Ruske, Director of the Horn Workshop. The program included works by Alexander Glazunov, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, and Vittorio Monti. Thomas Weaver accompanied on piano and Horn Assistant Kristen Sienkiewicz joined Professor Ruske for one selection.

Other faculty performances later this week will include recitals by Terry Everson, Director of the Trumpet Workshop; Mike Roylance, Director of the Tuba/Euphonium Workshop; and the acclaimed Muir String Quartet. This Friday and Sunday evening, Yo-Yo Ma will be performing with the Silk Road Ensemble at Ozawa Hall on the Tanglewood Main Grounds- a performance that the students are granted entry to with the presentation of their season pass.

Outside the many musical performances this week, there are also quite a few activities and programs planned to give the students the opportunity to get off campus and take advantage of all the wonderful experiences the Berkshires have to offer! Just this week there will be a 2.5 mile hike up October Mountain, the first yoga class led by Kripalu trained yogis, a trip to Jacob's Pillow Dance, a private tour of the Lenox Library archives, and a bus trip to Walmart so students can pick up any of those last-minute items they might have left behind.

It has been a great first day, and we are looking forward to a wonderful first week!


Click the link below to view photos from tonight's faculty recital!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buti2012/sets/72157630185566058/





Sunday, June 17, 2012

Workshop Student Move-In!

Today the BUTI campus was finally filled with the bustle of parents, families, and talented young musicians (not to mention luggage, instruments, fans, and many, many cases of bottled water) as we welcomed the 129 workshop students who will be studying here for the next two weeks!

This summer the BUTI student body includes students from 35 states and 12 countries including Armenia, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Republic of Singapore, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. The 354 students who will be attending BUTI this season were carefully selected from a pool of over 830 applicants after a rigorous application and audition process. 

After morning registration, the students and parents attended Opening Ceremonies in the West Street Theatre led by Administrative Director Shirley Leiphon and Executive and Artistic Director Phyllis Hoffman. Professor Hoffman spoke to the students about the history of Tanglewood and the prestige of the BUTI program. She also congratulated them on their acceptance, praised their talent levels, and encouraged them to take every opportunity that this summer's immersion of "living and breathing music" would afford them. The ceremony also featured faculty performances by Don Lucas, Director of the Trombone Workshop and Ken Radnofsky, Director of the Saxophone Workshop.

The Opening Ceremonies were followed by a family BBQ on the back lawn behind Groton Place provided by the BUTI Dining Staff. After the delicious group picnic, the students proceeded to an All-Student Orientation, led by Director of Student Life and Operations Lisa Naas, where they met their RAs and various faculty and staff members whom they will be encountering during their stay. Their first night at BUTI was concluded with a mandatory floor meeting within their individual dorms where they reviewed campus rules and regulations and played ice breaker games to get to know their new roommates!

It was a very long and busy day here on campus, but it was wonderful to finally meet the first group of BUTI students, and we expect to see (and hear) amazing things from them in the coming weeks! Looking forward to a magical summer!


Click the link below to check out pictures from Move-In Day!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/buti2012/sets/72157630163750618/




Saturday, June 16, 2012

Welcome!

Welcome to the 2012 BUTI blog! Here you can follow along with all the exciting events, activities, programs and performances the Boston University Tanglewood Institute students will be partaking in all summer! My name is Kristen Seavey and I am the Publications & Media Manager for the 2012 BUTI season and I will be regularly updating this blog with photos, stories, and information regarding the various BUTI goings on- both on and off campus!

The BUTI Staff has been hard at work for the past few weeks preparing for the arrival of the workshop students this Sunday. (Registration from 10:00-4:00 at Groton Place.) We are all very excited and looking forward to a wonderful summer! See you soon!