This course is an opportunity for string players of approximately grade 6 to 8 standard to play chamber music in a variety of mixed groups, one to a part.
STANDARD: CONFIDENT, SKILFUL
Resident: £572 Non-Resident: £435 (25% off for under 27s) Code: 25/337
Booking for Members opens at 9am on Wednesday 27 November 2024
Non-Member and online booking opens at 9am on Monday 16 December 2024
For details on how to become a Member to take advantage of early booking, see here
What is the course about?
This course is about playing a wide variety of string chamber music including trios, quartets and sextets. The tutors will arrange the groups for each session; players may find themselves playing in different combinations and with different repertoire for each session. Violinists will be encouraged to tackle both 1st and 2nd violin parts.
Tutor website: Tedesca.co.uk
What will we cover?
Ensemble skills
Confidence in playing chamber music
Technical advice will be offered when appropriate
What will we accomplish? By the end of this course you will be able to…
You will have gained confidence playing in a group, covered a wide range of repertoire and hopefully made some friends along the way.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
Players need to be an approximate grade 6 to 8 level, fairly confident and willing to do some sight-reading.
How will the course be taught, and will any preparation be required?
Tutors will arrange groups for each session and each group will be coached for half of each session. Occasionally the tutor will play with the ensemble.
Participants will be advised of some repertoire 4 weeks before the course and are encouraged to do some preparation.
Will music be provided in advance of the course?
Yes: scanned parts of the pieces set for the course will be made available on the Benslow website a few weeks before the course
Is there anything I need to bring?
Courage, flexibility and a spirit of adventure!
What previous participants have said about other courses with the Tedesca Quartet...
“Amazing experience, the Tedesca are brilliant, so encouraging.”
“The coaching is always outstanding from the Fab Four. Always. By the last day I am playing beyond anything I might have expected or previously experienced.”
“Don't panic! There can be no kinder tutors than the Tedesca Quartet - they are very patient and guide participants through their sessions with good humour.”
Tutor biographies
From 1987 to 1991, Nic was co-leader of the English String Orchestra and was leader of Orchestra of the Swan in its early years. He has been a soloist in concertos of Mozart and Bach, and in double concertos of Schnittke and Arnold. He has been guest leader of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra and Manchester Camerata among others. Nic was regularly called upon to lead sinfonia ViVA and has also conducted the orchestra on several occasions. Playing has taken him on tour throughout Europe, North and South America and Japan, and he features on countless recordings. In the 1990’s Nic was 1st violin of the Delcini String Quartet which played at music societies throughout Britain.
Nic is very fortunate to have been introduced to chamber music by his first violin teacher Anne Macnaghten, 1st violin of the Macnaghten Quartet and co-founder of the original MacNaghten Concerts. He went on to study with the great Hungarian pedagogue Bela Katona.
For nearly thirty years, until leaving in 2019 in order to devote more time to the Tedesca Quartet and to conducting, Nic was a highly respected and much sought-after teacher at what is now the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Clare Bhabra studied music at Birmingham University where she graduated in 1984 with a B.Mus and a 1st in performance. She continued her studies at the Royal Northern College of Music under the direction of Lydia Mordkovitch.
At the age of twenty-two Clare joined the first violins of Opera North. For the next ten years she combined a busy orchestral schedule with co-founding the Mirage String Quartet and the Janacek Piano Trio. With these ensembles she gave numerous concerts around the country.
Since moving to Nottinghamshire in 2002 Clare has continued to perform as an orchestral and chamber musician with various groups including Sinfonia Viva. In 2010 she was appointed leader of the Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestra and also finds time to teach and coach pupils aged from eight to eighty.
Richard Muncey studied at the Royal College of music with Bernard Shore. Whilst there, he won the major viola prize and became a founder member of the Guadagnini Quartet. They had residencies at Lancaster University and Banff Summer school in Canada. They toured and broadcast worldwide, winning several international prizes.
Richard was for a short time associate principal viola with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1985, he left to freelance.
He became the principal viola with the Northern Chamber Orchestra and EOEO (latterly Sinfonia Viva). He has appeared as a principal with many of Britain’s orchestras including the Halle, CBSO, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, Ulster Orchestra, Manchester Camerata and The City of London Sinfonia. He was also was invited as principal for a short season with the orchestra of Bologna Opera.
He and four Manchester friends formed the Music Group of Manchester which promoted five seasons of concerts at the RNCM to great critical acclaim. They toured at home and abroad and released a CD.
With Robert Glenton he formed The Orchestra of the Golden Age, a period instrument group. They made several CDs and appeared throughout Britain and the rest of Europe.
For the last few years he’s concentrated all his musical energies into the Tedesca Quartet.
Away from music he has a great interest in history and architecture as well as playing Bridge. Any time left after all that is spent on his allotment and dreaming up recipes for its produce!
He plays on a very fine instrument which is unnamed and its provenance confounds all the string instrument experts.
Jenny Curtis Cellist Jenny Curtis studied at the Royal Northern College of Music where she was awarded many prizes and scholarships. She took part in masterclasses with Ralph Kirschbaum and Maurice Gendron and also in the masterclasses with Paul Tortelier which were televised by the BBC.
Jenny was a finalist in the LPO/Pioneer Young Soloist competition. She was a member of the Philharmonia for six years and has played with many of the finest orchestras in the country, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the Halle.
Jenny has regularly appeared as a soloist in this country and in Denmark. She is a well-respected and experienced teacher and has been a cello professor at the Royal Northern College of Music for eleven years.