2010 CASS-Amici String Camp
July 19 - 23, 2010
St. Vladimir's Cultural Centre
404 Meredith Road NE (Memorial Drive and Edmonton Trail)
Calgary, Alberta
See the registration form or the fee summary for fee information.
The CASS-Amici String Camp offers young string players between the ages of 5 and 18 with over 2 years string experience the opportunity to learn in an intensive and enjoyable summer atmosphere. Developed by Amici String Artistic Directors Fiona Carnie and Theresa Plotnick, the program is designed to give participants a nurturing, stimulating and inclusive environment in which to enhance and develop their musical abilities.
Participants work together with a dedicated faculty to learn and to enjoy the sociability of a summer camp. It is our wish that each student grow musically and personally while at the same time enjoying all the wonder and excitement of summer music camp life.
Full Day Program
July 19 - 23, 2010 9:00 am to 5:00 pmCASS-Amici String Camp provides:
- technique classes
- masterclasses
- ensemble and/or orchestral training
- piano accompaniment
- performance opportunities and public recitals
- extracurricular activities
Participant Requirements
Students must bring one well-prepared work and one work in progress. Please remember to bring piano parts for solo pieces.
Students must bring their own lunch everyday.
Students must have a desire to learn with a positive attitude!
Parents are welcome to be present at any part of the program. We encourage those of you with students 10 years or younger to attend and help with lunchtime supervision.
Junior Program (1/2 Day)
July 19 - 23, 2010 9:00 - 11:00 amCASS-Amici offers a daily 2-hour program for students 5 to 8 years old with a minimum of 1 to 2 years playing experience, these fun and energetic sessions will include:
- note reading skills
- technique
- ensemble work
- opportunities for solo performance
Private instruction is available for the Full Day Program and Junior Program and is offered at an extra cost on a first come, first served basis, pending teacher availability. Sign-up sheets will be available on the first day of camp. Requests must be submitted on the first day of the CASS-Amici String Camp. Students in the Full Day Program will have priority in lesson sign up, but students in the Junior Program may also request lessons.
Introduction To The Violin (ITTV)
July 19 - 23, 2010, 1:00 - 2:30 pmThe Introduction To The Violin (ITTV) program is designed to introduce children aged 5 to 8 to the violin. The program will consist of a one-and-one-half hour class each weekday afternoon with varied activities that include:
- basic violin posture games
- introductory music reading games
- other music related activities
- inclusion in public recitals
Performances
Performance is at St. Vladimir's Cultural Centre.- Friday, July 23, 2010 1:00 pm
Teacher Profiles
Fiona Carnie, Director and Violin Teacher
Fiona Carnie studied violin with Lise Elson in Calgary where she received her bachelor of music in violin performance (with distinction) from the University of Calgary. She then went on to receive her master of music from Yale University, where she studied with Sidney Harth and Syoko Aki. She has played professionally for many years with ensembles such as the Calgary Philharmonic, the National Ballet Orchestra, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony and many other groups.
Ms. Carnie taught for eighteen years at Mount Royal Conservatory, where she was String Coordinator, Director of Early Childhood Strings and the Summer String Academy. She also coordinated the Intermediate Academy program and taught chamber music and violin technique and masterclasses. Her students perform with major orchestras and teach at major institutions across the country. She is now co-director of the Amici String Program.
Ms. Carnie adjudicates festivals across the country and is an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto). She regularly gives guest masterclasses and pedagogy sessions.
Theresa Plotnick, Violin and Viola Teacher and Camp Assistant Director
Theresa Plotnick combines an array of performance experience with a dedication to furthering young students. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Ms. Plotnick earned a music degree at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She played professionally in orchestras in Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio; Caracas, Venezuela; and Erie, Pennsylvania before moving to Calgary.
Ms. Plotnick has performed frequently as a freelance violist with such groups as the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Calgary Bach Society, Calgary Festival Chorus, Royal Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra, Red Deer Symphony, VAD ensemble, and numerous chamber groups. She is a founding and current member of the Allegra String Quartet.
After serving on the faculty of the Suzuki Talent Education Society for many years, she served as coordinator of the Mt. Royal College Junior Academy Program. She is a frequent clinician and adjudicator at workshops, summer programs, and festivals. She currently maintains a large violin and viola studio while serving as associate artistic director of the Amici String Program.
Jeffrey Plotnick, Violin Teacher and Orchestra Director
Jeffrey Plotnick, a native of Dayton, Ohio, has completed his twenty-sixth season as Principal Second Violin with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Mr. Plotnick performed with orchestras in Cincinnati, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; and Caracas, Venezuela before assuming his present position in Calgary.
In addition to performing in the Calgary Philharmonic, Mr. Plotnick also has served as concertmaster of the Calgary Bach Society and the Calgary Festival Chorus Orchestras. Mr. Plotnick has often appeared as violin soloist with the Calgary Philharmonic as well as the Calgary Bach Society, and is heard in frequent performances as a solo and chamber recitalist. In October of 1998, Mr. Plotnick participated in a cultural mission to Kazakhstan, which included solo performances for its President.
Mr. Plotnick has been a member of the faculties of the University of Calgary and Mt. Royal College in Calgary, and is the conductor of Mt. Royal’s Intermediate Youth Orchestra. In addition, Mr. Plotnick has been a faculty member of the Banff International Youth Orchestra Festival, the Valhalla and Strings and Keys summer music institutes, and has appeared as guest artist and clinician at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Andrea Case, 'Cello Teacher
Andrea Case has a Master’s degree in cello performance from McGill University where she studied with Antonio Lysy. Andrea made her solo debut in 1998 with the Calgary Civic Symphony playing Bloch’s Schelomo. She is co-founder of Players Chamber Music Ensemble. Along with playing in Lily Quartet, Ms. Case is pursuing a career in chamber music and enjoys teaching cello at Mount Royal College.
Barbara Heninger, Violin Teacher
Barbara Heninger, a native Calgarian, began her studies at Mount Royal College. She participated in the Academy program and completed a performance diploma in both voice and violin from the Mount Royal Conservatory of Music.
She completed her bachelor of music degree in violin performance from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Erika Raum. She subsquently continued her studies at the Glenn Gould School with Mrs. Raum and completed an Artist Diploma of Music. She had the opportunity of working with outstanding artists including Andres Cardenes, William Preucil and Lorand Feneves.
Ms. Heninger is a certified Suzuki teacher and currently teaches at Mount Royal College. She is an active chamber, orchestral and solo performer
Diane Lane, Violin Teacher
Diane Lane was born in Claresholm, Alberta. Ms. Lane began her violin studies in Lethbridge before attending the Mount Royal Conservatory of Music in Calgary. While studying there, she had the privilege of working with many internationally renowned artists.
Ms. Lane graduated from McGill University with her bachelor of music degree under the tutelage of Yehonatan Berick. During her studies there, she had many performance opportunities and played under the direction of, among others, Charles Dutois. She continued her studies with Edmond Agopian at the University of Calgary and graduated with a Master's degree in violin performance.
Ms. Lane has participated in a number of music festivals and competitions. She spent fall of 2004 at The Banff Centre as a resident where she collaborated with many renowned musicians. She has returned to Banff many times since, both as a soloist and chamber musician.
Ms. Lane co-founded Players Chamber Music Ensemble and is a member of The Lily String Quartet. She is an active orchestra and chamber performer and plays with various ensembles in and around Calgary.
Keiko Takahashi, Violin Teacher (first week only)
Keiko Takahashi began learning the Violin at age 5. She earned a bachelor degree in performance and teaching from Toho University of Music in Japan. After moving to Calgary, she became a faculty member of the Suzuki Talent Education Society and was there for 17 years. She now runs a private studio teaching violin and viola. She also travels as a clinician throughout Canada.
In addition to this, she is a busy freelance musician playing with various orchestras including the Calgary Philharmonic, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Touring Orchestra, and the Red Deer Symphony. She also performs in various chamber ensembles, musical and theatre groups throughout Canada, the States and Japan. Ms. Takahashi will be at the camp only during the first week.
Ben Plotnick, Violin, Viola and Fiddle Teacher
Ben Plotnick’s parents started him on classical violin at the early age of 5. Mr. Plotnick honed his skills as a musician as a member of the internationally acclaimed group “The Calgary Fiddlers”. He also developed as an accomplished violist in the Calgary Youth Orchestra, and the Academy Program at Mount Royal College. He has performed on five continents including England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, and all over North America. Mr. Plotnick also plays many other stringed instruments such as the electric bass and the guitar, as well as various percussion instruments.
Lana Henchell, Collaborative Pianist
Lana Henchell received her bachelor and master of music degrees from the University of Calgary, where she studied with Marilyn Engle under major scholarships. She has played in masterclasses for Janina Fialkowska, Sergei Babayan, Georgy Sebok, Nikolai Demidenko, John Perry, Marc Durand, Dang Thai Son, Jean-Paul Sevilla, and Stéphane Lemelin; and during the 2003 Esther Honens Competition, with Ursula Oppens.
Winner of the 1994 Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival Rose Bowl and a first-round competitor in the 2000 Esther Honens Competition, she has also received second prizes in the Shean Piano Competition (Edmonton, 1998), the International Stepping Stone of the CMC (Montréal, 1997), the Austrian-Canadian Society Mozart Competition (Calgary, 1996), the National Music Festival (Sackville, NB, 1996), the Stravinsky Awards International Piano Competition (Champaign-Urbana, IL, 1993), and took third prizes in the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Piano Competition (1997) and the CIBC National Music Festival (Montréal, 1994).
Miss Henchell has played numerous recitals in the Calgary area as soloist and as accompanist, and has appeared with Calgary orchestras, performing concerti by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Grieg. She participated in the 2003 “Barbara Krakauer” Academy in Vaison-la-Romaine, France, through a major grant from the Alberta Foundation of the Arts. In January 2004, she performed in concerts for the University of Calgary’s New Music Festival, “Happening”.
As a result of winning First Prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Piano Competition in May 2004, Miss Henchell travelled across Canada to perform a sixteen-concert tour. This included a performance of the Mozart C Major Piano Concerto, K.503, with the Montreal Chamber Orchestra. In 2005, Miss Henchell performed a solo recital at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa for the 2005 Alberta Scene Festival, which was broadcast on CBC Radio Two.
Miss Henchell has taught private piano and theory lessons, adjudicated festivals and accompanied both professional and student musicians in the Calgary area. Currently, she is working towards her D.M.A at McGill University under the tutelage of Richard Raymond.
Ami Longhi, Collaborative Pianist
Ami Longhi completed her bachelor of music degree in 1996 at the University of Calgary, where she studied with Marilyn Engle and Charles Foreman. She has taught piano and music theory privately, performed and recorded chamber music, toured internationally as an accompanist with several vocal quartets and choirs, and accompanied student and professional vocalists and instrumentalists. Currently, Ms. Longhi teaches piano and is on faculty at Mount Royal College Conservatory. She is a member of the Odyssey Ensemble. (picture courtesy of The Instrumental Society of Calgary, used with permission)
