Join us for our 2019-2020 season Chamber Music Master Class series! All master classes take place at 10am at Newton South High School on the specified date.

Our first master class was on Sunday, November 3rd. Mike Reynolds, cellist of the Muir String Quartet and Cello Professor at Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences, shared his expertise with some of the BYSO students. We are all so grateful to him for taking the time to come and teach us!

Our second master class was Sunday, March 8th. Kristopher Tong, member of the chamber music and violin faculties and assistant chair of strings at New England Conservatory. Thank you to Kristopher for another wonderful master class filled with valuable lessons for all!

These events are FREE and open to the public, and all are welcome (and encouraged) to attend and take advantage of these wonderful learning opportunities!

Unfamiliar with classical music master classes? A master class is a class where a few students perform and receive feedback from a professional in the field. However, often many more people are in the audience than just those who are playing in the class, because there is much to be learned from listening as an audience member to the feedback being given to the performers. With an outside view, the audience can hear objectively how the group or individual playing sounds and can listen to the advice of the teacher and apply it to their own practicing and performing.

This is why, regardless of whether your instrument is the same as the teacher's instrument, master classes can benefit you and you can learn a lot from any of the terrific professional musicians who are part of this season's Chamber Music Master Class series. Since they are chamber music classes, part of the advice is often aimed towards performing as a whole as opposed to one specific instrument. Regardless, the wisdom shared by these teachers is transferable to any musician and any instrument, and the insight they share is invaluable to all of us. They often give advice on:

•Playing technique and how to avoid common technical errors

•Good practice methods

•Tone, phrasing, and shaping

And other tips that are useful to everybody.

If you have any further questions about master classes, feel free to reach out to any of the BYSO staff and we will be happy to speak with you!