Summer at Banff

This is my first time here in Banff, Alberta
where I’m participating in the Banff Centre’s Master Class session. I’m getting
lessons for the first time in three years, which is refreshing, and playing
lots of BRAHMS. Can’t get enough.

The faculty is all very
forward thinking in their ideas on the future of classical music, which is also
refreshing. It seems very clear to them that our audiences will dwindle if we
do not make some real changes. We can build our future in other ways other than
following the “traditional” route. You cannot expect to simply win an orchestra
job or become a soloist
anymore, or to always aspire to play a ‘certain way’, or to become the next
Jascha Heifetz. WAKE UP! It’s not going to happen for all of us. We have to
spend the time discovering our own voices. We have to reach within ourselves
and our communities and learn how to share music on a ground level so our
audiences can continue to grow and feel connected to what we are doing. 

I’m
learning how to trust my musical instincts, to define them and make clear
decisions based on them. I’m learning to be honest and not go on automatic
pilot in performance (oops!). I find myself daydreaming about the character of
the beginning of
Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 1 or the second theme of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet.
There is just a whirlwind of ideas floating around here!

This
has been a truly inspiring experience so far and I’m looking forward to the
rest of my summer…(Apple Hill, rock on!). I’ll be glad share more with you
all when we get back. Best wishes to all the CMW community. I hope you are all
finding things that inspire you this summer so we can come back revitalized and
ready for new challenges.

-Jessie
Montgomery, Providence String Quartet