Our annual Summer Gathering was a very memorable week, where young artists and industry professionals from around the world came together to learn, rehearse and perform together from 9-13 July. This week covered plenty of wonderful chamber music rehearsals culminating in a performance, but also covered everything that surrounds a career in music, from the recording industry, media coaching, career coaching and much more.

As many young artists arrived for the Summer Gathering, there was a sense of anticipation and excitement about what was to come and what could be achieved during this varied week. The artists selected for this week were: 

Bilal Alnemr (violin)

Alexey Stychkin (violin)

Paul Zientara (viola)

Julia Blachuta (violin)

Marc-Andre Teruel (double bass)

Zofia Neugebauer (flute) 

Callum McLachlan (piano)

Ari Evan (cello)

Irene Duval (viola)

Day 1

On Monday 10 July, we began with a session on the recording industry with Aurelia Rippe (Head of A&R and Production, Naïve Classique) chamber music session was hosted on Raphaël Merlin (cellist & conductor), working on Mozart Flute Quartet, Piazzolla Duo and Dvorak Terzetto. This was the first time some of the artists were playing together, so there was a great sense of excitement and possibility in the room. With some dinner and a rehearsal in the evening with Eric Tanguy (composer), the course started off in a relaxed way as everyone got to know each other.

Day 2

On Tuesday 11 July, the day commenced with an early morning relaxing meditation with Pallavi Mahidhara (pianist and producer of podcast ‘The Conscious Artist’) and continued after breakfast with some media coaching with David Skudlik (co-founder of Sforzato). The artists had more valuable time with Pallavi later in the day in ‘The Conscious Artist’ to give advice and mental health and spark conversations among the artist on this topic. 

After lunch, the artists had a chance to rehearse Schubert Trout Quintet, Dvořák Quintet  and Mozart Flute Quartet with Raphaël and Eric, followed by some more personal media coaching with David later in the day. Sonia Simmenauer (Artist Manager) also joined us at this time to give some valuable career coaching. After dinner, the day finished with a workshop on ‘Being an Open Musician’ with Eric Tanguy. 

Day 3

Wednesday 12 July started off with a wonderful session with Fanny Gsteiger on Alexander Technique, a technique which helps a person discover a new balance in the body by releasing unnecessary tension which can be very useful for performance. Just after this we had a fantastic round table discussion led by Markus Wyler (Music Management); with Eric Tanguy, Pallavi Mahidhara and Raphaël Merlin, posing great questions to think about such as: What am I doing all of this? Who am I playing for? Can one build a career?

After this fruitful discussion, the artists had lunch and then travelled to Château d'Aubonne for a rehearsals and a concert to showcase what they had learnt during the week. This was a gorgeous evening, with a receptive audience and very enjoyable repertoire:

Debussy Syrinx (solo flute)

Rossini Duet for Cello and Double Bass in D major (Finale)

Dvorak Terzetto (Mvts 2-3)

Tanguy Quartettsatz

Mozart Piano Concerto No. 9 'Jeunehomme', K. 271 (Mvt I)

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Mozart Flute Quartet in D major, K.285 (Mvt 2&3)

Piazzola J'attends

Dvorak String Quintet No. 2 in G Major, Op. 77 (Mvt. I)

Schubert Trout Quintet (Mvts 2&5)

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Chausson Sicilienne

Day 4

The final day of the course (July 13) arrived, and it was just as busy and exciting as the rest, starting off with a posture and stretching workshop with Amy Kim. This continued with an enriching workshop with Lea Brückner (violinist & environmentalist) on sustainability and being a voice of the future, followed by a fun improvisation session. After this, the artists said their goodbyes after a memorable and enjoyable week with a lot to take away.

A huge thank you to all the young artists and industry professionals that came together to make this week a success. It makes all the hard work worthwhile!