Apple Hill Virtual Summer 2020

Committed to fulfilling our mission, but with safety concerns of paramount importance, Apple Hill has shifted to hosting an abbreviated, online summer program. Open to all, this combination of concerts, lectures, and discussions will embody the unique and diverse music-making of the Apple Hill community. Links will be available here and videos of live streams will be shared the following day on our YouTube channel.

These programs will be presented to all free of charge. Please consider a “tuition” donation to support the musicians and other expenses!


June Session, Curated by Apple Hill Violinist Elise Kuder

Monday, June 22, noon EDT, Lecture: Violin faculty Jesse Holstein
Up to 1904, the music of Béla Bartók was an extension of the lush late
romanticism from the end of the 19th century. Liszt, Wagner, and
Richard Strauss were the main influences on his output. This all
changed in the summer of 1904 while on holiday when he overheard a
Magyar nanny sing native Transylvanian folk songs to her charges. This
profoundly changed the trajectory of Bartók’s musical life and his own
compositional language. Until Bartók fled Europe in 1940 and settled
in New York City, Bartók, alongside his colleague and countryman
Zoltán Kodály, recorded and transcribed thousands of folk songs from
all over Central and Eastern Europe and even into Northern Africa.

Through the lens of the 44 Duos for two violins from 1931, we will
explore how Bartók used indigenous folk song to create ingenious
pedagogical duets that continue to inspire and fascinate both string
students and concert audiences alike. Written as a progressive
educational system of pieces, each one of the 44 is its own sound
world.

-Jesse Holstein
Luckily, field recordings that Bartók collected and used as the basis
for these duos survive and we will be able to hear some of these as
well as performances with Jesse alongside violinist Ealaín McMullin.

Click here to watch the full lecture on YouTube.

Tuesday, June 23, 7:30pm EDT, Concert: Kinan Azmeh, clarinet, and Layale Chaker, violin
Performer-composer recital of their own works
Listen to the concert on YouTube

Wednesday, June 24, 3pm EDT, Reading & Listening Club: hosted by Lenny Matczynski, Director of Apple Hill
Reading: Aaron Copland What to Listen for in Music
Order at https://www.toadbooks.com/ or your favorite local bookstore!
Listening: Haydn String Quartet in E-flat, Op. 33, No. 2, “The Joke”; Schubert, “Death and the Maiden Quartet”; and Adnan Saygun, Quartet no. 3

Listen to Reading & Listening Club on YouTube.

Thursday, June 25, 5pm EDT, Violin Master class: Apple Hill resident violinist Elise Kuder coaches three young violinists

Watch the masterclass on YouTube.

Friday, June 26, noon, EDT, Lives in Chamber Music: Elise Kuder interviews alumni violinist Maiani da Silva, composer/pianist Anthony Green, and alumni Marji Gere, violinist, and Dan Sedgwick, pianist/composer

Watch Lives in Chamber Music on YouTube.

Saturday, June 27, noon EDT, Sharing Concert: Attention Apple Hill Participants! Send us your recordings made in your social isolation! We’ll all listen together in solidarity, support each other, chat together, and end with a shared dance playlist curated by beloved Apple Hill Counselor Maya Rappaport! Please email Amelia for the Zoom invite.

acmp logo bw
This program has been made possible, in part, with support from ACMP Associated Chamber Music Players.

July Session, Curated by Apple Hill Cellist Rupert Thompson

Monday, July 6, noon EDT, Lecture: Music & Friendship: How Music Enhances Empathy and Connection
By viola faculty Chris Jenkins, Associate Dean for Academic Support; Con Liaison to the Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; Deputy Title IX Coordinator; Oberlin Conservatory of Music
Apple Hill participants, perhaps better than anyone, understand music’s power to build connections and bridge divides. But did you know that playing or listening to music together actually synchronizes brain waves, or that synchronizing rhythmically or harmonically with others increases positive feelings towards them – even if they are strangers who are not in the same room? This phenomenon is called “self-other merging as a consequence of interpersonal synchrony,” an apt scientific description of what happens at Apple Hill. Join this presentation and discussion on the scientific concepts demonstrating how and why music enhances interpersonal connections and helps us build friendships.
-Chris Jenkins

Click here to listen to the talk on YouTube.

Tuesday, July 7, 7:30pm EDT, Concert: Rupert Thompson solo cello recital
Featuring Bach’s final solo cello suite, No. 6, in D Major, BWV 1012

Click here to listen to the concert on YouTube.

Wednesday, July 8, 3pm EDT, Reading & Listening Club: with Lenny Matczynski, Director of Apple Hill
Reading: Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land, Sandy Tolman
Order at https://www.toadbooks.com/ or your favorite local bookstore!
Listening: Beethoven Op. 135

Click here to listen to the the discussion on YouTube

Thursday, July 9, 5pm EDT, Cello Master class: Apple Hill cellist Rupert Thompson coaches three students on a variety of solo cello repertoire.

Click here to watch the masterclass on YouTube.

Friday, July 10, noon EDT, Lives in Chamber Music: Rupert interviews Apple Hill faculty member Eric Thomas

Click here to watch the interview on YouTube.

Saturday, July 11, noon EDT, Sharing Concert: Attention Apple Hill Participants! Send us your recordings made in your social isolation! We’ll all listen together in solidarity, support each other, chat together, and end with a shared dance playlist curated by beloved Apple Hill Camp Director Alexis Nelson! Email Amelia for the Zoom invite.


August Session, Curated by Apple Hill Violist Mike Kelley

Monday, August 10, noon EDT, Lecture: Alumna violist Lisa Sailer on Alexander Technique
The Alexander Technique helps us learn about our patterns of movement and behavior, and offers us constructive ways to change them if we wish. While it is very useful for musicians to learn about the Alexander Technique, anyone can benefit from it—and its principles can apply to anything we do. This year, in the midst of a bizarre summer in which many of us are unable to play chamber music with others, Lisa wants to know what is most useful for you! What practical advice do you want from an Alexander Technique teacher that is relevant to your new day-to-day life—music-related or otherwise? To learn more about the Alexander Technique and to submit questions, go to www.lisasailer.com and hit “contact.” Please submit your questions by July 10.
-Lisa Sailer

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Tuesday, August 11, 7:30pm EDT, Concert: Mike Kelley, viola, and Elise Kuder, violin
Multimedia works for violin, viola, and electronics

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Wednesday, August 12, 3pm EDT, Reading & Listening Club: Hosted by Lenny Matczynski
Reading: Amy Beach, Passionate Victorian: The Life and Work of an American Composer, 1867-1944, Adrienne Fried Block
Order at https://www.toadbooks.com/ or your favorite local bookstore!
Listening: Amy Beach Piano Quintet in F sharp minor, Op. 67

Listen on YouTube.

Thursday, August 13, 5pm EDT, Viola Master Class: Director Lenny Matczynski coaches three Apple Hill alumnae on a variety of viola solo repertoire

Listen on YouTube.

Friday, August 14, noon EDT, Lives in Chamber Music: Elise interviews flute faculty, Vanessa Holroyd; piano faculty, Jeff Louie; and violinist, composer, and frequent Apple Hill collaborator Dana Lyn

Listen on YouTube.

Saturday, August 15, noon EDT, Sharing Concert: Attention Apple Hill Participants! Send us your recordings made in your social isolation! We’ll all listen together in solidarity, support each other, chat together, and end with a shared dance playlist curated by beloved Apple Hill Camp Director Evan Raczynski! Email Amelia with your YouTube links by Wednesday, August 12 to participate, or to get the Zoom link to attend and listen.

The August Session is sponsored by C&S Wholesale Grocers.