The Cello Seminar
May 25 - June 3, 2006
Music From Salem,
The Brown Farm
Salem, New York

Faculty
Rhonda Rider, cellist (Triple Helix; faculty, The Boston Conservatory)
Judith Gordon, pianist (soloist and collaborator)
David Russell, cellist (Furious Band, formerly a member of the Eaken Trio
and Tulsa Philharmonic)

The Cello Seminar is designed to explore music written for the cello by twentieth and twent-first century composers. The wide range of repertoire, from classics to works on the cutting edge, will include pieces by such composers as Carter, Britten, Mackey, Jolas, Webern, Harbison and Tower. Works for solo cello and cello ensemble will be preformed at the end of the week in Hubbard Hall, a beautifully restored 19th-Century Vaudeville Hall in Cambridge, New York. Located at the Brown Farm in rural New York, the seminar is open to young professional and professionally bound cellists.

Daily Schedule
The daily schedule will consist of open lessons, rehearsals and masterclasses. Topics will include contemporary techniques and score analysis from the performer’s perspective, exploration of the tonal and technical range of the instrument, as well as some basics to cello playing such as bow control, ease and security in shifting and practice techniques. Discussions will cover such topics as making a living as a cellist, orchestra auditions, the ins and outs of chamber music groups and programming contemporary music. Participants will prepare approved solo and ensemble repertoire as well as brief introductory talks for a public performance in Hubbard Hall. Participants will be encouraged to take risks, extending their techniques and broaden their concepts.

The Brown Farm
The Cello Seminar takes place at the Brown Farm in rural New York State. For over a decade this 19th century farm house has been the home of Music From Salem, a chamber music festival bringing together renowned musicians from Europe and the United States. Artists are drawn here by the spirit of intense music making and the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Over the years a warm connection has developed between the musicians and devoted members of the local community. This festival, founded by co-directors Lila Brown and Judith Eissenberg, fosters a creative atmosphere in an entirely non-institutional setting ideal for the Cello Seminar.

The Cello Seminar Fees: $500 for tuition, room (double occupancy) and board at the Brown Farm or a nearby Bed and Breakfast. The Brown farm offers a vegetarian cuisine prepared from locally grown produce. $25 per class for drop-in auditors. Please call ahead to inquire about masterclass times. Phone: (518) 854-7246. All checks are payable to Music From Salem, Box 631, Salem, New York 12865. Deposit deadline is May 1, 2006.

For a list of suggested repertoire please contact: Rhonda Rider, 34R Seaverns Ave, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Phone: 617-983-1996, E-mail: RRider@Bostonconservatory.edu

The Faculty

Cellist Rhonda Rider.

Pianist Judith Gordon gave her New York recital debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Introductions series. She has been heard as soloist with Boston Pops, ProArte Chamber Orchestra, Civic Symphony of Boston, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Among her colleagues in recital and chamber music are violinists Rose Mary Harbison and Andrew Kohji Taylor; violists James Dunham, Cynthia Phelps, and Marcus Thompson; cellists Andres Diaz, Yo-Yo Ma, and Rhonda Rider; vocalists Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, James Maddalena, and Lisa Saffer; the Borromeo and Lydian String Quartets; and members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has been featured in concerts and on recordings with Essential Music, Boston Musica Viva, and Collage New Music. Gordon has participated in festivals including Charlottesville, Rockport, Santa Fe, Spoleto, and Token Creek. A graduate of New England Conservatory, Judith Gordon was named Musician of the Year by the Boston Globe in their “Best of 1996 Classical”.

David Russell maintains a vigorous performance schedule both as soloist and as collaborator in the U.S. and Europe. He was appointed to the position of Assistant Principal 'cello with the Tulsa Philharmonic in 2000 and served on the teaching faculty of Oklahoma City University from 2001 to 2003. As a member of the Grammy-nominated Eaken Trio, formerly in residence at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, he has toured extensively in France, Germany, Italy and England. A strong advocate of new music, he has performed with such ensembles as Phantom Arts Ensemble for American Music, Dinosaur Annex, Collage New Music, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Music on the Edge, AUROS Group for New Music, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players, and the Fromm Foundation Players at Harvard. He is a founding member of Furious Band, the 2000 contemporary ensemble in residence at the Aspen Music Festival. He obtained his D.M.A. in 'cello performance at the State University of New York at Stony Br ook, studying with Timothy Eddy, and holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the University of Akron and Brandeis University.