The music of J-term students shine in class and performance

Author: Virginia Harper

This past January, several Middlebury students had the unique opportunity to participate in a Winter Term class, "Performing Chamber Music," under the guidance of Su Lian Tan, associate professor of Music. The course, which has been offered in previous years, brings together serious musicians - whose academic pursuits range from music to molecular biology to geography - as they spend three hours a day, four days a week throughout the month in rehearsal. This year, cellists, violinists, pianists, a violist, a clarinetist, an oboist and a flautist were represented in the group, providing a multifarious assortment of instruments and a rich sound.

Considering the musicians' instruments, Tan organized the class by selecting appropriate music and dividing the musicians into ensembles. Students practiced individually, but she encouraged their performance as a group. Many of the student musicians knew each other from their involvement in the Middlebury College Orchestra, but the rigorous hours of practicing and the necessity of working together drew them even closer.

"We definitely bonded a lot through the class," said Megan Guiliano '07.5, a violinist who has been playing since age three. "It was really an amazing experience."

The end result was the group's performance on Jan. 27 at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall, followed by an afternoon performance in Mead Chapel the next day. The class presented their work to a crowded concert hall full of faculty, students and staff. With a quartet, quintet and two trios, the class performed pieces from a wide range of composers including Beethoven, Shostakovich, Dvorak, Brahms and Holst.

The audience was clearly impressed by the students' performance after only one month of preparations. Caroline Vial '05.5 went to the concert to see a friend perform and was "astounded as to how much sensitivity was invested into the musical performance."

Vial believes the concert was about much more than simply playing the notes on the page.

"The students clearly knew about the context in which the piece had been created," Vial said. "They seemed to be interpreting the emotions of the composer down to the note."

This added element to the performance probably came from Tan's teaching, in which she stressed the importance of looking deeper into a piece, not just scratching the surface.

Preparations for the concert made by Tan and the students were rigorous. Given the short amount of time that the musicians had to prepare for the end of month concert, they worked diligently throughout Winter Term on the selected pieces. After rehearsal hours, the musicians were expected to practice and perfect their own individual parts within the collective ensemble.

Amanda Mitchell '08 an oboist, commented, "I'm not used to playing that much every day or with such a small group of people. However, the class was structured well."

The guidance of Tan, who is an accomplished flautist and teaches composition in the music department, was essential to the success of the group.

Guiliano, who worked with Tan for the first time in January, noted, "She was a great asset for the class. She is really brilliant and has a lot of energy." Many hope the class will be offered again during next year's Witner Term since it was such a positive experience this year.