We’re only a few months away from the 15th annual Summer Music Institute (SMI) at the National Arts Centre! In preparation, we’ve asked three SMI faculty members -- Patty Kopec (violin/viola), Grigory Kalinovsky (violin/viola), and Charles (Chip) Hamann (oboe) -- to share some advice with students about preparing for the Young Artist Program (YAP), making the most of their time here, and what makes SMI unique. This Q&A will be posted in several installments so be sure to check back!
Can you give some advice to students about preparing for the YAP?
Patty: Prepare in advance your chamber music and solo repertoire.
Grigory: If you haven't already, try to familiarize yourself with the teaching styles of the faculty at YAP you are going to be working with, so that you know what to expect, and prepare yourself in such a way that you would get maximum benefit from working with them. Whatever pieces you are bringing to work on, it's a good idea to have some that are fully learned and some that are work-in-progress—that way you can get input from the faculty on both how to polish a piece, and how to take a new piece apart and learn it efficiently. Make sure to have your chamber music parts really ready, so you don't waste the time in rehearsals.
Chip: Practice, practice, practice! Bring along extra chamber music you might want to read while you are here. For double reed players, bring all of your reed equipment with you. There is time to go in depth with this aspect of your playing.
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