Join us at String Day 2024!
Saturday, March 23 at Powers Music School, 160 Lexington Street, Belmont
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Powers string students and faculty – Free!
Non-Powers string students, Teachers, General public – $25 fee (includes all String Day activities + the All Play concert)
Sign-Up Here
Not a Powers student? Pay your $25 fee here
What does the day look like?
10:00 – 11:00 am – Review Recital, Robin Alfieri
10:00 – 11:00 am – My First Violin! Beginning Steps for Young Violinists, Cassandra Lyons
11:00 am – 12:00 pm – Improvising Made Easy with the (five-note) Pentatonic Scale, Ellery Klein
12:00 – 12:45 pm – Lunch and Discussion panel Q&A with Powers string department!
12:45 – 1:00 pm – String Swap presentation, Jason Long
1:00 – 2:00 pm – From Violin to Viola (and Vice Versa), Sachin Shukla
1:00 – 2:00 pm – Introduction to Creative Ability Development, Ellery Klein
1:00 – 2:15 pm – Introduction to Klezmer Music, Jim Guttmann
2:15 – 3:00 pm – Instrument repair and care presentation, Jennifer McSweeney, ASNE
3:00 – 4:00 pm – Hardanger Fiddle presentation, Vilde Aaslid
4:00 – 5:00 pm – All-Play concert and Raffle Drawing
Questions? Email Powers String Department Chair, Karl Orvik, at korvik@powersmusic.org
Not a string student? Click here to learn about Workshop Week at Powers, a full week of special presentations, interactive workshops, and masterclasses for everyone!
Designed Especially for You
Using feedback from our community and Workshop Week attendees, we’ve hand-crafted a special day devoted just to string students, with opportunities for all ages and experience levels.
Why come to String Day?
Practice and learn techniques on your instrument, try new ways of thinking and playing, get your questions answered by teachers and leaders in the field, and more.
You’ll feel back on track, ready to challenge yourself and reach your goals, supported by this awesome community of string players.
And here’s the best part.
Imagine being surrounded by a large group of your peers – string players of all ages and experience, all warming up. The sounds of everybody in harmony, playing and experiencing this alongside of you. Feeling the rush of those opening chords, and knowing that here, you matter.
String Day Experiences
Review Recital
Saturday, March 23, 10:00 – 11:00 AM
Instructor: Robin Alfieri
Best for: Early Childhood, Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Adult
Level: Any
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Please bring music needed (if any) and your instrument
Do you have a piece that haunts you? You play it like a pro now but you still remember all of the wrong notes from when you worked so hard to learn it? Come perform it in the Review Recital! Each participant should come to this recital with an older piece that they now find much easier than when they learned it. After playing it, Suzuki Violin Teacher Robin Alfieri will walk you through the piece, focusing on technique, musicality, etc. that may be challenging to capture in a newer, more difficult piece. You’ll leave with written notes to bring back to your practice and lessons to become a master of your next big piece! Please keep pieces to about 5 minutes.
My First Violin! Beginning Steps for Young Violinists
Saturday, March 23, 10:00 – 11:00 AM
Instructor: Cassandra Lyons
Best for: Early Childhood
Level: Beginner
Instrument: Violin
Please have ready: Just yourself!
Want to introduce your child to playing an instrument but unsure where to start? Learn from an expert! Join Suzuki Violin Teacher Cassandra Lyons for a walk-through of the box (pre) violin. She’ll also show examples of the basic posture fundamentals and the bow hold to get your little one ready to play!
Improvising Made Easy with the (five note) Pentatonic Scale
Saturday, March 23, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Instructor: Ellery Klein
Best for: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Adult
Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Your instrument
Learn how to make a tough skill easy with the pentatonic scale! Fiddle Teacher Ellery Klein will teach you what the scale is and how to play through it and then you’ll learn a simple American tune that uses it to flex your skills!
String Department Panel
Saturday, March 23, 12:00 – 12:45 PM
Best for: All
Level: All
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Questions for the pros of Powers!
Have you ever wondered about all the different styles of string playing and teaching methods, like Suzuki, Traditional, and Fiddle? Have you ever wanted to know more about possible career paths for string players, or been interested to know what your teachers’ paths looked like? Have you ever just had a burning question you’ve wanted to ask a string teacher, and never got the chance?
Well, here is your opportunity! Join members of the Powers string department for our first-ever panel discussion, where we will answer all your questions, and talk about a range of topics, including differing teaching methods, tips on equipment and accessories, navigating the vast youth music scene in Boston, and much more! This panel is open to everyone, and students and parents/caregivers are especially encouraged to join. This Q+A session will be during lunch so you can take a break, enjoy some treats, and chat with other string players in a relaxed environment.
Lunch!
String Swap
Saturday, March 23, 12:45 – 1:00 PM
Instructor: Jason Long, String Swap Owner
Best for: All
Level: All
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Strings to be recycled
Jason Long, owner of String Swap will guide you through the string recycling process! Learn about what comes next for your strings after you change them and how it helps the world. Bring old strings of your own to drop off at the string recycling bin provided by String Swap.
From Violin to Viola (and Vice Versa)
Saturday, March 23, 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Instructor: Sachin Shukla
Best for: Middle School, High School, Adult
Level: All
Instrument: Violin and viola
Please have ready: Your instrument
Violinists — ever considered joining the dark side? We might not have cookies, but we do have violas. In this workshop, we’ll explore all that the viola has to offer and some guidelines for getting the most out of this magnificent instrument. We’ll take a close look into the physical differences between the two instruments, and how that changes the technique of playing the viola. We’ll also gain a deeper understanding of the mysterious alto clef. For any violists who are violin-curious, we will also take a look at what it takes to go in the opposite direction, so you should come along and join the fun!
Introduction to Creative Ability Development
Saturday, March 23, 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Instructor: Ellery Klein
Best for: Elementary School, Middle School
Level: Beginner, Intermediate
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Your instrument
Come play some fun improv games and exercises to explore various aspects of improvisation and creative playing. Take all those scales you’ve been practicing so hard, and let’s see what they can do when you set them free!
Introduction to Klezmer Music
Saturday, March 23, 1:00 – 2:15 PM
Instructor: Jim Guttmann
Best for: Middle School, High School, Adult
Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Your instrument
Meet Klezmer music from a professional Klezmer music performer! Upright Bass Teacher Jim Guttmann will introduce you through a quick history of the style, key melodic and rhythmic structures, and then a selection of music to perform. In order to understand this style of music there are some skills needed: 1) ability to read music in the appropriate clef of the participants’ instruments with 16th notes (for viola players, knowledge of treble clef would be helpful); 2) understanding of ties and simple syncopation; 3) familiarity with the harmonic minor scale would be helpful; 4) an understanding of triad structure will be helpful.
Instrument Repair and Care
Saturday, March 23, 2:15 – 3:00 PM
Instructor: Jennifer McSweeney, Acoustic Strings of New England
Best for: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Adult
Level: All
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Just yourself!
A presentation by Jennifer McSweeny of Acoustic Strings of New England.
Hardanger Fiddle Presentation
Saturday, March 23, 3:00 – 4:00 PM
Instructor: Vilde Aaslid, Hardanger Fiddle Teacher
Best for: Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Adult
Level: Intermediate, Advanced
Instrument: Violin
Please have ready: Your instrument
Join Norwegian violinist and fiddler Vilde Aaslid as she takes us on an exploration of the famed Hardanger Fiddle (which has 8 strings!). She’ll then teach you two Norwegian fiddle tunes you can play (even without 8 strings!)
All are inivted to watch the demonstration, but those that wish to learn to play the pieces should be able to learn a tune by ear.
All Play Concert
Saturday, March 23, 4:00 – 4:45 PM
Best for: All
Level: All
Instrument: All strings
Please have ready: Your instrument
Players of all ages, instruments, and levels are invited to perform in an all-play concert! Here is the sheet music and recordings for the three pieces we’ll be performing.* Each piece has multiple parts for multiple ability levels; please find the part that looks the most comfortable for you. When you arrive, we’ll divide into groups based on the parts you’ve chosen. The more you’re able to prepare ahead of time, the more fun you’ll have when we put it all together!
*If you would like to program Mannheim Mountain for a concert, please contact Betsy Hinkle directly at betsyhinkle@gmail.com.
Raffle prizes!
Enter to win prizes specially picked for string players! Prizes include:
- $100 gift card from Johnson Strings
- 2 tickets to a Boston Philharmonic concert, current season or next season
- “The Practice Partner” assignment and practice record book
- $100 gift card from String Swap
- Amahi ukulele from Acoustic Strings of New England
The raffle drawing will happen at some point during the All-Play, so if you’re interested in raffle prizes, make sure you’re there for the All-Play!
See the hourly schedule for the day here!