Favorite Classical Musicians, Joshua Bell

"My favorite memory of Strings is Joshua Bell."

Joshua Bell at Strings Music Festival

"The Joshua Bell concert was magical."
"Joshua Bell performing in the intimate space of the Strings tent."
"Joshua Bell, wow!"

Famous for his Washington DC metro experiment, violinist Joshua Bell was featured at a Strings Music Festival classical concert in 2005. For a trip down memory lane, check out the Steamboat Today article from July 14, 2005.

Spotlight: Tesla Quartet

The Tesla Quartet

This summer Strings Music Festival welcomes the Tesla Quartet to the Young Artist-in-Residence program. The Tesla Quartet was founded in 2008 at The Julliard School and currently studies with the Takács Quartet through their Graduate String Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Music festivals are familiar to the Tesla Quartet, and before coming to Strings, they spent three summers at Aspen Music Festival.

Most recently the quartet took 3rd prize in the London International String Quartet Competition. Nick Kimberly of the London Evening Standard wrote the following about the competition:

“The Tesla Quartet (US) followed with Debussy’s String Quartet, the fleeting atmospheres of which have defeated some of the world’s finest. This was a subtly coloured performance that balanced confidently between intimacy and extraversion. A real sense of four players listening to each other did not obstruct a natural rapport with the audience.

Confusingly, the judges’ decision took account of performances in earlier rounds. Based on the final alone, I would have given the prize to the Tesla, whom the jury placed third. First prize went to the Arcadia. All three quartets deserve a bright future.”

The Tesla Quartet at Wigmore Hall, London

I Remember Youth and Family Concerts at Strings

"Kid shows, especially the one I got to be in!" -Margaux, 6

"I love to watch the children at the children's concerts. They are so engaged and their joy is pure."

Banana Slug String Band - Youth Concert - 2011

The Strings Music Festival Youth and Family Series is popular with our youngest audience. The series began in 1995 with six concerts, and the $1 ticket price for kids is still the same today! If your kids are looking for things to do in Steamboat this summer, bring them to a performance with dancing, juggling, drumming, and learning how to make their own music. Visit our website for brief descriptions about the concerts.

2012 Youth and Family Concert Schedule:

June 26 - The Gizmo Guys - 11:00am and 5:30pm

July 3 - Alison Brown Quartet - 11:00am

July 10 - Beethoven’s Wig - 11:00am

July 17 - Fara Tolno and Kissidugu - 11:00am and 5:30pm

July 24 - Billy Jonas Band - 11:00am and 5:30pm

July 31 - Farmer Jason - 11:00am

August 7 - The Not-Its! - 11:00am

Steamboat Springs Music Education Program May Suffer as Poverty Numbers Rise

94% of elementary schools and 91% of secondary schools offered specific music designated instruction in the 2009-10 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistic’s Arts Education Study. 

In an economy with education monies shrinking like clothes left too long in the drier, the fact that more than 90% of all schools still offer music education, sometimes considered a superfluous cost, seems exceptional. This statistic may lead us to believe that educators are listening to the data that proves music education makes better students. Here are a few findings from the National Endowment of for the Arts study of The Arts and Achievement of At-Risk Youth: 

-      Students with arts-rich experiences showed higher overall GPAs than students without those experiences.

-      Students who earned many arts credits were five times more likely to graduate than students with few or no arts credits.

-      Both 8th-grade and high school students who had high levels of arts engagement were more likely to aspire to college than were students with less arts engagement.

-      Students who had intensive arts experiences in high school were three times more likely than students who lacked those experiences to earn a bachelor’s degree. They also were more likely to earn “mostly A’s” in college.

While the majority of students in the United States have access to public music education, there is a wide range of quality of that education. An NPR blog post on the same topic sheds some light on the disparity between what schools offer and what students actually receive. Richard Kessler, Dean of Mannes College The New School of Music and former Executive Director of The Center for Arts Education notes, “What the data isn't telling you is that you can have schools where there is one music teacher and 1,000 students. Some of those students are going to get music and some of those students aren't.”

The recent studies break down music education according to socioeconomic status (SES) of the schools. SES is determined by the percentage of students in a school district that qualify to receive free and reduced-cost lunch. According to the chart below, it is clear to see that as poverty increases, access to music instruction, arts specialists, number of music classes, a district curriculum guide, and dedicated music rooms decrease.

Remembering Steamboat Weather

We’ve sure had some wild weather in Steamboat Springs this week. Everything from a record breaking 71 degrees on Wednesday, the first thunderstorm of the season, and finishing out the week with a fresh blanket of snow over the valley. Weather also makes a lasting impression on our patrons who have attended concerts in pouring rain and thunderstorms.

Strings Music Festival Tent - 2004

"Attending a concert in “the tent” during a thunder and lightning storm. The roof leaked and my favorite musical selection of the evening was “raindrops keep falling on my head. It was quite a night!" -Julia Ann and Doug Jones

"The day at the Gillerg and it rained hard! No one minded and the show went on!" -Mix and Karen

"Having concerts interrupted by the thunder and noise of hail hitting the roof of the tent!"

"Rain leaking in the tent."

"We and our guests from California will always remember the chamber concert when it started to hail and the Steamboat elements delayed the start of an otherwise wonderful night of music."

"Concerts in the tent stopping for thunder."

If you’re looking for things to do in Steamboat and Colorado summer concerts, be sure to check out the Strings Music Festival Concert Calendar. Tickets for the summer are on sale now!

Tweet Seats: Cell Phones Allowed in Theatres

With a TV and a cell phone, music fanatics get first hand interaction with all of their favorite stars as they watch the Grammys, the American Music Awards, or Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve. Viewers not only see the stars on camera, but get to join in the conversation with the help of Twitter.  

While tweeting at a rock concert or at home in front of your television is almost like breathing, in a traditional concert hall the audience is warned to turn off their phones before the performance, or else risk being glared at by an angry neighbor.  

But with 140 million users and over 340 million tweets a day, Twitter has snuck its way into classical music. Some theatres, including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Dayton Opera, the Carolina Ballet, and the Shakespeare Festival, have introduced “tweet seats.” In these specific seats an audience member is allowed, and even encouraged, to pull out a cell phone to share thoughts about the concert. Tweeting during a performance is a way to have a “silent” conversation where the audience can engage and actively participate in the program instead of just zoning out.

After the break, look at a Twitter conversation during a Cincinnati Orchestra concert and hear my personal thoughts on tweet seats.

Strings at the Steamboat Athletic Club

Chamber Music at the Steamboat Athletic Club - 1991

Did you know that Strings Music Festival first began at the Steamboat Athletic Club on the deck of Storm Meadows? Here are some of the favorite memories from that time:

"Playing on the Athletic Club deck and admiring the flattops years ago."
"Sitting at Slopeside eating dinner and listening to the Strings concert at the same time." -Karen Linsky
"Walking through the woods to and from the Storm Meadows Athletic Club for concerts."

"Recruiting audience members to move the piano in the Steamboat Athletic Club."

The Strings staff was nervous for their first ever concert and hoped at least one person would show up. Imagine their surprise when they peered out the windows to see an audience of 250 people! They even had to find more chairs to accommodate everyone. This was the first time that live classical music was available in Steamboat Springs. Concerts were held at the Steamboat Athletic Club for four years, until the fire martial said that patrons could no longer sit on the roof for concerts.