Not only did we have the wonderful Tamaki Higashi working with our senior strings in the autumn term to get the most out of Dvorak’s lyrical 8th Symphony, but at the end of the Spring term another fabulous member of the Villiers Quartet, Carmen Flores, will be leading a WORKSHOP for all VIOLINISTS & VIOLISTS

What to expect Carmen’s workshop for violin and viola players will be a “Love Chocolate, Love Viola/Violin” session with chocolate and music for all violinists and viola players of Grade 3/4 to Diploma standard to join in and enjoy. 

🔸Carmen will demonstrate why the viola has a sound likened to warm, smooth chocolate and there will be chocolate and luscious music for all to enjoy. 

🔸The session should help upper string players understand the important roles they play as 1st, 2nd violin and viola sections and how they inter-relate. 

🔸Many violin players also play viola thereby giving them literally more strings to their bow and more opportunities to perform and move through the NYO orchestras.

🔸The viola is on NYO’s endangered instrument list and obviously we’d love to have more violists in our orchestras.

🔸We are aware that many of our NYO violinists may not have had a chance to try a viola so we will have both violas (of differing sizes) and a few violins strung as violas for students to try.

🔸We will enjoy playing some ensemble music designed to discover the rich darker sounds of string playing. The parts will be written in both viola and treble clef so students can have a go at reading viola clef (helpful for Gd 5 theory!)

🔸There will be string techniques/tone production hints for all upper string players whether violin or viola.

🔸Plus did we mention that this event also features FREE CHOCOLATE!? What not to like?!