FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is once again hosting the Grammy Award-winning St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in residence as it works with Jacobs students before performing Friday at the IU Auditorium.
This immersive educational experience includes a wide variety of master classes for instrumentalists as well as a side-by-side rehearsal, with St. Louis Symphony members playing and coaching alongside each member of the IU Chamber Orchestra.
Stéphane Denève, music director of the St. Louis Symphony and the Brussels Philharmonic, will present a class for student conductors before also working with the IU Philharmonic Orchestra.
The nation’s second-oldest orchestra, and widely considered one of the world’s finest, the St. Louis Symphony boasts numerous Jacobs School alumni, including Sarah Hogan Kaiser, B.M.’00, who is teaching a class on double bass during the residency.
While Kaiser has not previously worked directly with Jacobs students, she said she is thrilled to be leading the class: “I know the skill level will be extremely high, and the exchange of ideas and conversations will be thought provoking. I have learned a lot on stage in my 18 seasons with the SLSO, and I’m excited to share some of it!”
“There are so many different aspects of studying at IU that I loved, which were so important in my development as a professional musician,” said Kaiser, who studied with Lawrence Hurst at the Jacobs School. “How much time do you have?
“To start, I loved the very large bass class; there were so many perspectives and backgrounds. I learned so much from my peers, and we had a great sense of camaraderie, which allowed for respectful conversations and sharing of ideas at master classes and repertoire classes each week. It was at these master classes that I was able to start to get more comfortable playing for people by myself and, ultimately, preparing for an audition situation. Hearing multiple perspectives was invaluable and helped me shape my sense of playing.
“In addition, playing in the student orchestras was an extremely valuable experience for me. Especially once I got to play with the Philharmonic: the skill level was so high, and we had some truly remarkable concerts and operas.
“Lastly, the academic life in the music school was invaluable. I learned so much about music history, especially. I feel I was truly pushed, and when I went to graduate school, I easily tested out of some requirements. Not only was I able to spend more time practicing in graduate school because of less class time, but having a sense of the history behind the music is so important.”
Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra are also participating in a number of outreach activities with other IU units as well as local elementary schools during their visit to Bloomington.
Tickets to the orchestra’s Friday concert may be purchased through the IU Auditorium.
