From a press release:
The Grand Teton Music Festival announced plans today for its annual StringFest for area middle school music students. The unique three-day string clinic brings the orchestra students
of Jackson Hole and Star Valley Middle Schools together with Festival veteran violinist Barbara Scowcroft for an intense collaborative rehearsal and concert experience. StringFest 2007 runs November 13-15 and culminates in a public performance by the young musicians in the Festival's newly renovated Walk Festival Hall, Thursday, November 15 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, no tickets required. All ages are welcome.
StringFest launches the GTMF in-school programs each year -- the students of Jackson Hole Middle School and Star Valley Junior High School begin working on their music for this performance as soon as the school year begins. The clinician, GTMF veteran musician and Utah Symphony violinist Barbara Scowcroft, will visit the seventh and eighth grade orchestra classes of Vincent Gutwein (Jackson) and Brian Ashton (Star Valley) November 13 and 14 to work with each group separately before they join forces for an all-day rehearsal followed by their combined performance in Walk Festival Hall on Thursday, November 15. A transformative
experience, StringFest helps students learn and indeed participate in the practices and policies of a professional orchestra. On the final day, students work with peers they¹d never met before and play their way though intense rehearsals and finally a public concert. They themselves can hear a marked change in their musicianship over the course of one very intensive and rewarding day.
"It is really wonderful to see the students supporting each other, working together," said StringFest clinician Barbara Scowcroft. "There is such joy in seeing them make new friends through their interest in classical music -- there's this incredible synergy, and that's the ultimate magic of music."
