It may just be me, but one of the topics I experienced as being most talked about but least written about in 2020 was education.
According to Google the top US news headline of 2020 was, unsurprisingly, the Coronavirus. That particular panic was quickly followed by Donald Trump, George Floyd, Joe Biden, Police Brutality, Wuhan and Racism.
What the discerning reader will notice as a common thread between these apparently disparate themes is: education - or the lack of it.
The Exhale's One-Year-Anniversary Scales Flow Class with Joely Koos, Charl du Plessis, Dale Culliford, Matthew Jones, amongst others.
Rarely has an omnipresent entity known as "school" been so much under scrutiny as it was (and in many places still is) in 2020. As families worldwide raised their hands in protest on Zoom videos, exasperated by the very thought of home schooling, an extraordinary table was turned: teachers in primary and secondary schools everywhere were stepping up their game. Classes were online in a matter of days, with teachers doing what they could to offer educational and moral support as social distancing blew like a gust of cold air between us. Videos and memes of frustrated parents talking to their cameras about how teachers were expecting too much of them circulated on phones everywhere. A particularly memorable one showed an Israeli woman poking fun at herself by admitting her underlying imposter syndrome. Suddenly, it was no longer clear who was failing whom: the system its people, or the other way around. After all, how many of us have blamed the teacher, the school, the system, or even just a particular schoolbook on the purported failings of our children?
Whether home schooling was the best thing to happen to families en masse in 2020, or the worst, is a matter of personal situation. What is notable across many stories of whether home schooling was a success or not is the sincerity and involvement of any given teacher. The more they cared, the more empathy they, in turn, inspired in the student. For many, Zoom classrooms enabled teachers to connect with students more profoundly than they had in the past.
Those who have received arts training from a young age know the benefits of personalised teaching. In particular, one-to-one lessons offer young students a way to vividly explore their personalities, abilities, and seemingly endless possibilities.
The chance a teacher has to focus on a student and foster their talent during individual tuition offers a privilege in learning that I, for one, am very grateful for.
An Image from Michaela's Music House.
When my book Michaela's Music House was first published, we created a website around the book. Of all the resources we read to enhance the readers' experience, I think my favourite is still this:
"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house
of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind."
— Kahlil Gibran
The National Concert Hall International Master Course 2021 with Finghin Collins, Gilles Apap, Máté Szűcs, Marc Coppey.
This might be a good moment to let you know that Finghin Collins and I are thrilled to share with you the third installment of the National Concert Hall International Master Course, which will be online between the 3rd and 7th of August.
For application and more information please visit:
https://bit.ly/36d3vf0
The week-long programme includes talks and masterclasses with violinist Gilles Apap, violist Máté Szűcs, and cellist Marc Coppey, as well as workshops and presentations with Irish fiddle player Zoë Conway, jazz musician Ronan Guilfoyle and contemporary musicians Nick Roth, Cora Venus Lunny and Kate Ellis. Katie McGuinness, vice president of artistic operations at the Dallas Symphony will proferr advice on professional development. Finghin and I will present a guided tour of the Debussy Violin and Piano sonata from a performer's perspective and offer a recital programme around works by Debussy, Poulenc, Boulanger and Tabakova.
Hopefully see you in August!
We launched Gwendolyn's Bridge Club on 27th June. It is an evening of music, theater, literature, conversation, and pizza; an evening centred around building understanding between artists and audience members, creating a space for people to gather and find a common denominator through a shared love of arts. We are planning many more Bridge Club evenings. If you wish to be a member and lend support to artists with projects thematically wound around inclusiveness, diversity and a meaningful search for community, please contact me. You can support the Bridge Club in many ways, whether its financially, through sponsorship in kind, or by offering your expertise or products to our members. Have other ideas? Tell us about them! I would love to include them. This Club exists to provide its members with a home away from home.
Bridge Club with Matthias Walpen, Dominique Jann, Vera Kooper and Nicole Benz
Jürg Halter, Gwendolyn, Martin Moriarty, Raphaela Paetsch, Jiska Lambrecht, Daryll Bachmann, Dominique Jann
Our second gathering took place on 3rd July at a location in the old city of Berne. Artists included writer Jürg Halter, actor Dominique Jann, and master's students of the Zurich Hochschule der Künste.
Géza Szilvay and one of his Minifiddlers.
After brainstorming with Géza Szilvay numerous times in the past months, I am pleased to welcome him and his work to The Exhale. Starting at the end of August, he will be teaching an introduction to the Colourstrings Teaching - Material, Technique and Philosophy. This 21-hour course will be held over 4 weekends starting August 29th, 2021, with discounted rates for The Exhale members and ESTA members.
The learning continues.
Until soon!
Yours,
The eternal student