For the seventh year in a row, Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music (JVLMA) invites to the traditional international JVLMA Woodwind Symposium. This year it will take place in a completely unconventional way - the event has been moved from spring to autumn and musicians with symposium participants will communicate online.
This year's guests of the symposium are five musicians, brilliant performers and members of Europe's leading orchestras, as well as teachers - flutist Christina Fassbender (Berlin), oboist Mark Schaeferdiek (Maastricht), clarinetist Hermann Stefánsson (Stockholm), bassoonist Fredrik Ekdahl (Stockholm) and saxophonist Klaus Gesing (Trieste). Invited performers will lead online masterclasses, one-on-one classes and seminars on the Zoom platform from April 12-16. Registration for receiving an access link: register here.
Christina Fassbender, professor of flute at the Berlin University of the Arts, will be working with students from 12 to 14 April from 3 pm to 8.20 pm. On April 14 from 11 am to 13 pm there will be an opportunity to listen to the professor's seminar on breathing, sound formation and movement issues.
Hermann Stefánsson, professor of clarinet at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, will conduct individual lessons from 12 to 14 April from 11 am to 4.20 pm. On April 13 from 12 pm to 1 pm he will give a lecture on the variety of clarinet timbres and breath variations.
Fredrik Ekdahl, a professor of bassoon at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, will offer his masterclass to students and anyone interested on April 12 and 13 from 11 am to 4.20 pm, while on April 13 at 11 am there will be his seminar on breathing techniques, vibration and articulation.
The masterclasses of the Maastricht Academy of Music Oboe Professor Mark Schaeferdiek will take place on April 13, 14 and 16 from 11 am to 4.20 pm. An interesting addition to the oboist's virtual visit will be a discussion organized by him with students on April 16 from 2 pm to 2.40 pm, which will discuss topics about the structure of the oboe, maintenance and playing issues.
Klaus Gesing, professor at the Giuseppe Tartini State Conservatory of Trieste, will work with the young jazz and classical saxophonists within the symposium. On April 14 from 11 am to 4.20 pm Jazz saxophonists are invited to participate in his masterclass, but on April 15 and 16 from 11 am to 4.20 pm professor will work with classical saxophone students. Posture, breath, ambulance, exercises for controlling overtones and intonation studies - these issues will be discussed in his presentation and Q&A session on April 15 from 2 pm to 4 pm.
During previous years, each international JVLMA Woodwind Symposium has gathered an average of 60 active masterclass participants and interested parties from JVLMA, Latvian music schools and secondary schools as well as musicians from professional groups. Since 2013, with the support of the State Culture Capital Fund, 25 world-class woodwind instrumentalists have been invited to lead masterclasses, one-on-one classes and lectures. This season, five more performers will join the symposium's guest list, giving the participants a valuable opportunity to meet the potential Erasmus+ exchange professors virtually, as all this year's guests represent universities where the JVLMA students study almost every year.
