Benedetti Foundation announces return of the Virtual Sessions
The Benedetti Virtual Sessions launched with the Global Violin Sessions. (Photo Credit: Mark Allan)
THE VIRTUAL BENEDETTI SESSIONS TAKE PLACE NOVEMBER 16 - DECEMBER 13, 2020
The Virtual Sessions are back! And this time we are taking you on a trip around the world through the eyes of The Violin.
Music has always shown us the similarities and diversities of the human story with nuance, clarity and accuracy. It gently but undeniably states a worldview that requires no rebuffing. There is space in the world for us all. There is space for our individualities and particulars and differences. We are all allowed to be who we are and have love and acceptance of that identity. But how often do we demonstrate acceptance, curiosity and openness towards the story and cultures of others?
This Virtual Session is a tale of discovery, globalism and cultural exchange.
What happens if you take one tune and send it around the world? We’re about to find out.
The first stop on our musical journey will see us visiting America, Hungary, Finland and Serbia. We will gain insight into the musical worlds of each tradition, told by the violin and led by a stellar line up of great musicians.
Our tune, written by trumpeter, composer and educator Wynton Marsalis will be given its first outing played by Nicola Benedetti. It will then be passed round four countries over three weeks – America, Hungary, Finland and Serbia – from one ‘Virtuoso Violinist’ to another. Each violinist along with colleagues in their country will make it their own. They will change rhythms, twist notes, rewrite corners, add instrumentation and colours and effects – and along the way, they will teach us how they do it. Participants will then choose one tune to record and send us their playing. These videos will then be weaved together to create a brand new composition.
We are thrilled to announce the Virtuoso Violinists for the Cultural Exchange Part One are:
America – Week One
• Tessa Lark
• Mark and Maggie O’Connor
Hungary – Week Two
• Roby Lakatos
• Geza Hosszu-Legocky & the Five DeViLs
Finland and Serbia – Week Three
• Pekka Kuusisto
• Nemanja Radulovic
The Sessions take place between 16 November and 13 December
How to Take Part:
There are two participatory routes:
Explore & Discover: Saturday’s sessions offer the opportunity to Meet the Artists, take part in Q&A’s, learn about the violin's traditions and enjoy some performance sessions which are all open to anyone to sign up to.
Prepare & Perform: Sunday’s sessions are focused on violinists of all ages and stages, from beginners to advanced players, and everyone in between.
Sign up is now open and live Zoom session spaces are allocated to young people on a first come, first served basis. Please read through the information fully before signing up.
THE LIVE WEEKENDS
All live events will take place on the weekends of:
November 21 and 22 - America
November 28 and 29 - Hungary
December 5 and 6 - Finland and Serbia
A final special weekend of activities will happen on December 12 and 13, culminating in a celebration premiere concert revealing our newly composed piece featuring all of you!
A weekly tutorial from the Virtuosos will be released each Monday before the live weekend and short tutorials to support your learning will be released during the week by our violin tutors.
Each participant can select which sessions they wish to take part in each weekend and session catch ups will be made available after the live event for registered participants only so you can make these sessions fit whatever schedules you are working to.
SATURDAY – EXPLORE & DISCOVER
OPEN TO ALL PARTICIPANTS (Young People & Adults)
3:00pm-4:00pm UK Time / 10:00am-11:00am NY Time: Meet the Artists, Style Technique Hub and Q&A Session
4:30pm-5:30pm UK Time / 11:30am-12:30pm NY Time: The Story of …..
6:00pm-7:00pm UK Time / 1:00pm-2:00pm NY Time: Performance Session
SUNDAY – PREPARE & PERFORM
VIOLINISTS (Young People & Adults)
3:00pm-3:45pm UK Time / 10:00am-10:45am NY Time: Beginners Violinists
4:15pm-5:30pm UK Time / 11:15am-12:30pm NY Time: Intermediate Violinists
6:00pm-7:30pm UK Time / 1:00pm-2:30pm NY Time: Advanced Violinists
All live sessions for young people take place on Zoom*. You will need your camera enabled.
The live Zoom sessions have a maximum capacity of 1000 participants in the session. We are able to accommodate 2000 young people per session within Zoom. These will be allocated to young people in order of sign up. Should there be more than 2000 participants, you will all be able to view via the private live stream. On the sign up form, you will be asked to indicate if, due to timezone, you would not need a live space, so these are left available for those who can attend live.
Adult Participants will be able to view all the live sessions via a private live stream. You must be registered to receive this information.
SIGN UP PROCESS:
Sign-up is open from Friday 6 November and will close at 9pm UK time on Friday 13 November. After this, late sign up for viewing access will continue to be available.
The sessions are free to attend, with a recommended donation of £20-£30 per person. However, please donate what you can – no one will be prevented from attending due to financial circumstances.
Please visit the website and sign up here.
We are SO excited to be back with this global sessions and cannot wait to work with lots of you again!
About the Benedetti Foundation:
The Benedetti Foundation puts on transformative orchestra-based workshops for young people and teachers, that showcase what Music Education at its best can look and feel like.
The Benedetti Foundation unites those who believe music is integral to a great education, and inspires collective action targeted at increasing its reach and quality.
The Foundation does this through uncovering and sharing its best practices and celebrating its greatest advocates, whilst loudly demonstrating a reenergized vision for the future.
50% of the activity carried out by the organisation is for teachers. Teaching music well is an enormous responsibility and is hugely challenging.
The Benedetti Foundation is fiercely committed to providing meaningful support, extensive information and a sense of uplift, inspiration and respite to as many teachers as possible as well as to promoting music education practices which encourage both musical and civic betterment.
The first three workshops took place in Glasgow (3 – 6 January), London (10 – 12 January) and Dundee (6 – 8 March). Across the three weekends, the Benedetti Foundation reached just shy of 3,000 young people and 350 teachers. Participants attended from across the UK and the Republic of Ireland stretching from Shetland to the Isle of Wight. In Scotland there are young musicians from 31 of the 32 local authorities with 81% state educated in Glasgow and 75% state educated in Dundee. 30 of the 32 London boroughs were represented with 64% of participants state educated.
The Benedetti Foundation is a registered charity. It receives no government money and is currently funded through generous philanthropy, corporate sponsorship, trusts and foundations.
About Nicola Benedetti:
Violinist Nicola Benedetti is one of the world’s leading advocates for quality music education, the role of arts and culture in the wider community and the transformational effect it has on all young people.
She has been committed to education projects since the age of 15 and in the past 12 months, Nicola has worked with over 4,000 students and 700 teachers.
This commitment to supporting music practitioners was underlined in July 2018, when Nicola took over as President of the European String Teachers Association.
Nicola has contributed to campaigns to save and preserve music services across the country
She holds named positions in several of the UK’s most established and high-quality youth music organisations including the National Children's Orchestras, Sistema Scotland, National Youth Orchestras of Scotland, Music in Secondary Schools Trust, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and many more.
As ‘Big Sister’ to Sistema Scotland, Nicola led Super String Sessions in autumn 2018, celebrating the organisation’s 10th anniversary by bringing together 500 young people from a diverse range of learning backgrounds including through Sistema Scotland, Local Authorities and private tuition.
Fiercely committed to music education and to developing young talent, Nicola has formed associations with schools, music colleges and local authorities.
She is credited with broadening the appeal of classical music to young and new audiences through her extensive education work and appearances at events such as the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony and iTunes Festival.
Nicola was the winner of the GRAMMY Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo in 2020; awarded the Queen’s Medal for Music in 2017, the youngest ever recipient, and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honors, in recognition of her services to music.
Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. Her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and dynamic presence, coupled with her wide appeal as a high-profile advocate for classical music, has made her one of the most influential classical artists of today.
She is in much demand with major orchestras and conductors across the globe and this continues across the 2019-20 season with concerts throughout the UK, Europe and America.