Pro Corda Advanced Course 2024 - a peek inside
From Dan, our guest reporter:
Wow! I knew I was about to witness something pretty amazing when I was offered the chance to go and see a Pro Corda Summer Course in action, but I somehow wasn’t prepared for just how incredible these specialist chamber music weeks are!
I was invited to pop in and meet some of the students on this summer’s Advanced Course, held in the stunning surrounds of St John’s College School in Cambridge. With such a grand location I anticipated quite a formal atmosphere, but as soon as I stepped inside it was clear that the students were having all kinds of fun.
Alongside daily chamber music coaching from world-leading coaches, daily orchestral rehearsals and masterclasses, the students hang out, eat together, and enjoy a vast array of social and fun activities, including heading off together into the inspiring town centre of Cambridge.
I got to meet some of this summer’s students and ask them a couple of questions about why they come from all over the country to these events, and what they are learning so far.
Bryony, 18, from Oxford
Elijah, 17, from London
Yichen, 17, from Solihull
Having met a couple of students I was then allowed to go behind the scenes and sneak into the back of some of the rehearsal spaces. And I think it was this that most took my breath away. In small groups of three or four, I witnessed such expert technical musicianship, a warmth and musicality of expression, and sheer joy in sharing the musical experience together – it was simply wonderful. What I particularly noted for the first time, was how the musicians check in with each other as they play, constantly noting what the others are doing and responding immediately and with such complementarity.
Here, as with lots of chamber music, there is no orchestral leader, no conductor. Just an intimacy and understanding that goes way beyond words to produce such beautiful unity.
As I mentioned earlier, the coaches are exceptional – charming and unassuming but with a deft hand subtly guiding these up and coming musicians to flourish in the best possible way.
I also had the privilege to be chaperoned throughout my visit by Caroline, an ex-student who now helps on the Advanced Course. Caroline shares here what makes these Pro Corda courses so special that she is willing to travel half way around the world to be part of them!
The final stop on my whistlestop introduction to Pro Corda’s Advanced Course 2024 was when all the individual groups come together for orchestral practice. Under Josh’s expert guidance, all that individual talent combines for one huge glorious sound, rehearsing for the end of week concert. Such passion and drama played out in the wonderful St John’s College Sports Hall – and all by teenage musicians, it really is rather remarkable!
What a fantastic insight into what has clearly been an incredible week, and indeed a whole summer-long extravaganza of chamber music courses throughout the country. I hope this gives you a small glimpse into the courses at Pro Corda. It was such a treat for me to meet the students and enjoy their music-making for just a few moments. The courses run for young musicians in each age group from 6 to 19 years so why not find out more and join in next year for a magical summer of fun, leadership, artistic performance, friendship and musical creativity.
To Andrew, the coaches, on-site team and the brilliant students, THANK YOU!
Summer with Pro Corda 2024
From Andrew, our CEO:
What an inspiring first week its been of the summer chamber series. I write this as our Primary and Prep course students prepare to perform in the Theatre at Blundells School in Devon and our Junior course 12-14 year olds arrive for their course.
This summer marks a new chapter for the summer courses in many ways. Our new regional course venues have enabled us to reach out to so many new young musicians. This combined with Pro Corda’s new schools-based term time model has resulted in the most diverse ever student base for our flagship chamber music courses.
What has been so particularly heartening to witness this last week in Devon has been the new friendships made. As I know from personal experience from my childhood days attending the courses, a Pro Corda friendship is truly a friendship made for life. This is what chamber music gives us. An understanding of each other which goes to a level that the “snap-speed” immediacy of modern day communication doesn’t always allow.
To see the Prep and Primary group this week come together from such a variety of places, schools, and life journeys so far; and then to form such lovely friendships, show such care of each other, such leadership, and such pride in achieving the highest standards of artistic performance and musical creativity has been a privilege indeed. And we’re only at week 1!
Four chamber courses to come – and taking us from here in Devon to Lancashire and then back down to Cambridge.
To all our young Pro Cordians this summer – both those returning, and the many joining us for the first time – I am so very proud of you. For who you are as young musicians, and who you are as human beings.
The Pro Corda Festival 2024
From Andrew, our CEO:
With a few weeks to reflect on the exciting two months of the Pro Corda Schools Festival 24, I’m left with one overriding thought
– that the next generation really do bring great hope for the future!
Chamber music’s unique ability to bring people together in a profound way, most especially at difficult times for national and international society, is something that always shines hope and optimism on our world. But to see the way young people react to this medium; and the way they share, negotiate, and fuse unique and diverse personalities to enable a creative endeavor that is greater than the sum of its parts is really the most special thing of all to witness.
2024 saw the largest Pro Corda Schools’ Festival in its history. This brought many things…. An incredible standard of playing across the many and diverse young musicians that took part. More variety of instrumental combinations within the ensembles than ever before. More state sector school entries than ever before (something we will work non-stop to increase further via the year round Pro Corda Creative Ensembles series.) And of course a true “festival buzz” at each and every round.
As I drove across the countryside, from qualifiers to semi-finals to National Finals day, my own sense of optimism about what chamber music can do for UK music education intensified as never before.
At a time when music curriculum nationally is so challenged, the very concept of small ensemble training is surely needed now more than ever. Both the process and the result enlivens musicianship and performance skills in such an acute way. The sense of leadership in equal measure to creative spontaneity needed on stage for live small ensemble performance is a truly pivotal and life long musical and artistic training. But above all it is a life training. That is what shone through each day of Festival 24. The sparky unique characters, the warm collaboration, the individuality in equal measure to the togetherness. These are the things which inspire such hope.
Here’s to Festival 25!
So that’s it for another incredible year of the Pro Corda National Chamber Music Festival for Schools.
If YOUR school would like to get involved next year we will be opening up the 2025 Festival in September 2024. Follow us on social media and you will be the first to hear all the details of the new Festival.
Thank you to everyone who has participated and helped us along the 2024 Festival journey.
The Next Chapter
From Andrew, our CEO:
As many of you know, there will be major works carried out at Leiston Abbey to coincide with the commencement of the Sizewell C project. Pro Corda are using this as an exciting opportunity to remodel our programmes and strengthen our reach as the national provider of chamber music education.
Pro Corda will move the majority of its courses and programmes away from Leiston Abbey for the next few years.
With this, we are massively increasing our schools delivery. Our existing National Chamber Music Festival for Schools will be grown to take in a year-round Pro Corda workshop and masterclass series. This expansion will allow us to work with schools and areas where there is little or no chamber music, and widen the geographical reach of chamber music at a time when its pivotal educational benefits are needed in national music curriculum and beyond as never before.
So what will change?
- The Pro Corda Festival itself will remain in the Spring.
- Our existing “Create Together” programme for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools will be delivered as courses and sustained workshop series at our partner schools – allowing us to work with five times more students.
- Our founding residential chamber music courses serving each age tier will remain and be held at new stunning offsite venues in Devon and Cambridge as flagship summer series.
- We will continue to run programmes for the local community at Leiston Abbey during the works – including our provision for children and young adults with additional needs from Suffolk.
- Our Piano Sanctuary series for adult learners will also continue at the Abbey for now.
These changes represent the biggest remodelling of Pro Corda in its history. I’m delighted that the chamber courses which were our foundation stone will continue to be at the heart of the programme (at new stunning facilities for the forthcoming seasons) and that, alongside this, Pro Corda’s mission will reach the heart of classrooms and schools halls up and down the country, widening our access as never before at a particularly crucial time nationally.
Got any questions?
We will be releasing loads more information over the coming weeks and months as soon as we are able.
But we also understand that this is a big change for lots of you, and you will inevitably have questions.
Please do get in touch by clicking the button here and we will answer your questions as best as we can.
You can also call us during office hours on 01728 831354.
New Associate Director
From Andrew, our CEO:
“I’m really excited to pass on my appointment of Liz Winter as Associate Director of Pro Corda. Liz will join me to focus our ongoing fundraising drive, and a very exciting development plan, as we expand our provision to more groups than ever before.”
From Liz:
“I’m greatly looking forward to working with Andrew and the Pro Corda team at this exciting juncture in the school’s history. Andrew and I have worked together many times over two decades. Now Pro Corda faces new opportunities within the changing arts and music education landscapes . It’s always been our mission to deliver first class music teaching to meet all abilities and needs. Pro Corda represents the best in music education and this has never been more relevant. It is a great privilege to be joining the school at this very exciting time.”
Liz was for 20 years Director of Development at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge where she oversaw a number of major fundraising and alumni campaigns, including a number of significant capital projects. She worked closely with the College community and alumni to considerably increase bursary funds and in turn widen greatly the student demographic. She has also worked closely as a development consultant for the Centre for Geopolitics and the Woolf Institute, Cambridge University and currently serves on the Advisory Council of the LPO.
We look forward to Liz being part of the Pro Corda story and hearing lots more from her in the coming weeks and months.
Meet the Team - Matthew
It’s a brand new year and life at Pro Corda continues at pace! We are so excited for what is to come over the next few weeks and months. And all of that is only possible because of our amazing team. These are the wonderful people who make Pro Corda the magical institution that it is. And so we want to continue introducing you to some of them.
Below you can read their mini-interviews, ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one!
Next up it’s someone known to many of you as our Intermediate Course Director.
Meet Matthew
Who are you?
“Matthew Jones”
What do you do?
“I direct the Intermediate course for 14-16 year olds each summer”
How long have you been involved with Pro Corda?
“Roughly 12 years”
Tell us one thing you love about Pro Corda?
“The privilege of witnessing the evolution of the students through each course and from year to year, and the continuous reminder of the potency of chamber music in their lives”
What’s your favourite memory about your time with Pro Corda?
“So many to choose from! There have been a few concerts in which a group that has struggled to work through the week to overcome challenges and then have raised their game to a new level and given all they had in a concert – those moments are incredibly gratifying to see. The other memory is a more random one – of a murder mystery New Year’s Eve party on a course ten years ago where all the staff and students entered wholeheartedly into the spirit of the event.”
What’s the best concert you have ever been to?
“Difficult one, but one highlight in recent years has to be hearing the Danish String Quartet playing an unforgettable Beethoven quartet as part of a concert with Ensemble Midtvest (of which i was a member) in a chamber festival in Denmark; we played Mendelssohn and Gade octets with them in the second half which was also a huge treat.”
We hope you have enjoyed learning something about our incredible team.
If you would like to ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one then please leave your comment below. We will try and get back to you as soon as we can.
Meet the Team - Sian
We continue our series introducing you to some of our amazing team. These are the wonderful people who make Pro Corda the magical institution that it is.
Below you can read their mini-interviews, ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one!
Next up it’s the person who looks after our incredible Leiston Abbey site!
Meet Sian
Who are you?
“I am Sian, I’m the Leiston Abbey Site Supervisor and Assistant Administrator“
What do you do?
“I assist with the day-to-day operations in the office and provide admin support to the Course Directors. Within my Site Supervisor role, I oversee the security and maintenance of the Leiston Abbey grounds and buildings on site.”
How long have you been involved with Pro Corda?
“12 years.“
Tell us one thing you love about Pro Corda?
“I love the fantastic work we do with children and young adults with additional needs.”
What’s your favourite memory about your time with Pro Corda?
“I have lots of lovely memories but the one that stands out the most is when I got married here at Leiston Abbey. It was a perfect day!”
What’s the best concert you have ever been to?
“Red Hot Chilli Peppers in Ipswich in 2006!”
We hope you have enjoyed learning something about our incredible team.
If you would like to ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one then please leave your comment below. We will try and get back to you as soon as we can.
Meet the Team - Helen
After another brilliant Piano Sanctuary Retreat weekend at Leiston Abbey we thought it would be great to introduce you to one of our superstar coaches.
Below you can read their mini-interviews, ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Piano Sanctuary such a special one!
Meet Helen
Who are you?
“Helen Reid. I am a coach on the Piano Sanctuary Retreat weekends.”
What do you do?
“I am a pianist, giving solo and chamber music concerts. I teach piano and accompaniment at Bristol University. I run the Professional Studies course at the Guildhall School and mentor on the PGCert course there.”
How long have you been involved with Pro Corda / Piano Sanctuary?
“I think I coached on my first adult piano course about 15 years ago!”
Tell us one thing you love about Pro Corda / Piano Sanctuary?
“Spending the weekend with people from different walks of life who are brought together by a love of the piano.”
What’s your favourite memory about your time with Pro Corda / Piano Sanctuary?
“I don’t have one particular memory, but the moments that stay with me are watching people’s confidence and belief in themselves as pianists develop.”
What’s the best concert you have ever been to?
“Recently, I have to say watching my son perform as a jazz drummer for the first time( aged 11) at the Bristol Pre-Conservatoire concert. The whole concert was a celebration of young people making music together and it was wonderful. I also loved seeing Elton John in Bristol a couple of weeks ago!”
We hope you have enjoyed learning something about our incredible team.
If you would like to ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one then please leave your comment below. We will try and get back to you as soon as we can.
Meet the Team - Priscilla
We are in the midst of a series introducing you to some of our amazing team. These are the wonderful people who make Pro Corda the magical institution that it is.
Below you can read their mini-interviews, ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one!
Next up it’s the person who co-ordinates all our fantastic Pro Corda volunteers – the people who make everything possible!
Meet Priscilla
Who are you?
“I am Priscilla, I’m a trustee with Pro Corda and I help coordinate all our wonderful volunteers“
What do you do?
“I am a volunteer and work across the charity in a variety of roles. I consider it a privilege to be Front Of House at evening concerts, support the staff and students on residential courses and fill the gaps! Never an idle or dull moment!”
How long have you been involved with Pro Corda?
“I feel as though I have been at Pro Corda for a long time as I am so comfortable there, but it is only about 3 years.“
Tell us one thing you love about Pro Corda?
“Feeling part of a team and working with inspirational, talented and dedicated artists who care deeply about giving positive and life enhancing experiences to every student.”
What’s your favourite memory about your time with Pro Corda?
“They are still being made!”
What’s the best concert you have ever been to?
“I cannot pick one out, each event evokes an emotional response. It is a particular joy to witness transformative experiences particularly with children and adults with additional needs.”
We hope you have enjoyed learning something about our incredible team.
If you would like to ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one then please leave your comment below. We will try and get back to you as soon as we can.
Meet the Team - Anita
We are in the midst of a series introducing you to some of our amazing team. These are the wonderful people who make Pro Corda the magical institution that it is.
Below you can read their mini-interviews, ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one!
Next up it’s the Director of our Prep Course and Pro Corda West!
Meet Anita
Who are you?
“I am Anita Strevens, Director of Pro Corda Preparatory course and Pro Corda West.”
What do you do?
“Audition prospective students, create the chamber music groups, decide on the music they will play and book a wonderful team of staff to inspire the students.“
How long have you been involved with Pro Corda?
“About 25 years!“
Tell us one thing you love about Pro Corda?
“The speed with which a group of like-minded youngsters become a cohesive and creative set of musicians.”
What’s your favourite memory about your time with Pro Corda?
“Seeing a small group of 8-year olds singing the Macarena with actions on the grass outside Guesten Hall, then gradually, the entire course joining in with huge enthusiasm!“
What’s the best concert you have ever been to?
“Two…one of my sons playing Saint-Saens cello concerto at university, the other son playing keyboard in a band in a pub!”
We hope you have enjoyed learning something about our incredible team.
If you would like to ask them a question, or tell them how they made your experience of Pro Corda such a special one then please leave your comment below. We will try and get back to you as soon as we can.
