8th International Master Classes for Oboe, English Horn

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Faculty of Fine Arts presents

8th International Master Classes for Oboe, English Horn

June 24th - June 29th 2019 / Ostrava – Czech Republic


This year's oboe faculty are Nancy Ambrose King (USA), Sandro Caldini (Italy), Stephen Caplan (USA), Marlen Vavříková (USA), and Dušan Foltýn (Czech Republic).

This week-long oboe festival provides not only the opportunity to work with world-class oboe faculty, but also a chance to perform solo and chamber repertoire, ranging from Baroque to contemporary, in Ostrava's beautiful concert halls.

In lessons and master classes, distinguished oboe teachers will help students with various technical aspects of oboe playing: sound production, breathing, embouchure, articulation, finger technique, and extended techniques in contemporary music. This year, we are adding body mapping workshops and lessons with Stephen Caplan. In addition to private lessons, there will also be lectures, workshops, and an exhibition of instrument and oboe accessories (Lorée - Paris). A professional accompanist, a member of the Faculty of Fine Arts teaching staff, will be available to accompany students during master classes and performances. Accommodation will be provided in downtown Ostrava near the university. We look forward to seeing you in Ostrava!

Tuition:

  • Participants - 400 Euro
    The tuition includes individual lessons, attendance of master classes and workshops, participation in chamber music rehearsals, and accommodation.
  • Auditors - 250 Euro
    The tuition includes attendance of master classes and workshops, participation in chamber music rehearsals, and accommodation.

Application form soubor doc 1,13 MB
To apply, fill out this form and send it as a PDF to Marlen Vavříková (vavrikov@gmail.com) by March 31, 2019. You will be notified by March 15, whether you were accepted to the festival. Full tuition must be paid by March 31.

Instructions on how to submit your payment


Faculty

Nancy Ambrose King is the first-prize winner of the Third New York International Competition for Solo Oboists, held in 1995. She has appeared as soloist throughout the United States and abroad, including performances with the St. Petersburg, Russia, Philharmonic, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic, Tokyo Chamber Orchestra, Puerto Rico Symphony, Orchestra of the Swan in Birmingham, England, Festival Internacionale de Musica in Buenos Aires, New York String Orchestra, Amarillo Symphony, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, and Sinfonia da Camera. She has performed as recitalist in Weill Recital Hall and as soloist at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She was a finalist in the Fernand Gillet Oboe Competition held in Graz, Austria, and has been heard as soloist on WQXR radio in New York City and NPR's "Performance Today". She is on the faculty of the Sarasota Music Festival, has appeared as a recitalist throughout the world and was a member of the jury for the esteemed 2009 Barbirolli and the 2016 Muri, Switzerland Oboe Competitions. Ms. King has written a highly successful e-book for Apple I-Tunes titled "Making Oboe Reeds from Start to Finish with Nancy Ambrose King". Currently Professor of Oboe and  Chair of the Winds & Percussion Department at the University of Michigan, she was previously Associate Professor at the University Scholar at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and served as the first female President of the International Double Reed Society. She is on the faculty of the Sarasota Music Festival. She has also served on the music faculties of Indiana University, Ithaca College, University of Northern Colorado, and Duquesne University Schools of Music, as well as the Idyllwild Music Festival, Bowdoin Music Festival, Marrowstone Music Festival, Strings in the Mountains of Steamboat Springs, and the Hot Springs Music Festival. Professor King received her Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Music, and Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, studying with Richard Killmer. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Music degree where she studied with Arno Mariotti and Harry Sargous, Ms. King was the recipient of the school's prestigious Stanley Medal and was honored with the 2010 Hall of Fame Award by the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Sandro Caldini studied oboe with F. de Sanctis and M. Bruno at the Conservatory of Music in Florence, chamber music with John Blakely and english horn with Geoffrey Browne. In 1985, as english horn player, he won the 1st prize in chamber music at the International Music Competition in Stresa. He has appeared as solo oboist with the Chamber Orchestra of Florence, the Cantica Nova Orchestra in Siena and the Accademia Secolo XXI Orchestra in Legnago. He has collaborated with ensembles such as Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Corale Coradini and Esprit du bois and he has given concerts and master classes in Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, Canada, Brazil and the USA. After teaching at the Federal University in Rio de Janeiro, he accepted a teaching position at the Conservatory of Music in Milan and Cagliari (1995); in 1997 - he was appointed as oboe professor at the Conservatory of Music in Udine. He is an active editor of oboe works for the Musica Rara, Doblinger, Breitkopf & Härtel and Phylloscopus editions. He served as 2nd Vice-President of the IDRS for the biennial period 2006-2007 and has been on the juries of several oboe competitions, including the prestigious Barbirolli and IDRS Fox-Gillet Oboe Competitions. He has recorded for the Rivo Alto, CRDM and Ariston labels.

Stephen Caplan is Professor of Oboe at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and also serves as Principal Oboist of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Sierra Winds. In the summer he performs and teaches at the Orfeo Music Festival in the Italian Alps. Caplan's performances have been heard at venues such as the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. He has been a featured soloist with numerous orchestras including the Las Vegas Philharmonic, Arctic Chamber Orchestra, Festival Orchestra of Chernigov (Ukraine), New Orleans Philharmonic, and the Oregon Symphony. His performances have been heard on National Public Radio's All Things Considered and Performance Today. Caplan is the only musical performer to win the Nevada Arts Council's prestigious Artist Fellowship three times. With the Sierra Winds, and Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Michigan. In 2004, Caplan became a licensed Andover Educator after extensive study of Body Mapping with Barbara Conable. Caplan has developed a course for oboe players, « Oboe motions, » that uses applied anatomy to encourage more expressive and more efficient oboe playing. His “Oboe motions” master class has twice been featured at the annual conference of the International Double Reed Society. He has been a clinician for « Nora Post's Oboe Blowout, » “Northwest Oboe Seminar,” and « California Double Reed Day. » In addition, Caplan has given master classes at many leading music schools around the world. His book, Oboe motions; What Every Oboe Player Needs to Know About the Body, is published by GIA Publications and has been described as “indispensable reading for the serious student,” and “the operating manual for oboists.”

With a doctorate from the University of Illinois, Marlen Vavříková has performed at the Sarasota, Hot Springs, Banff, and Ostrava New Music festivals, the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music and International Double Reed Society conferences, and has been a soloist with the University of Illinois New Music Ensemble, the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana, and the Janacek Chamber Orchestra. Besides receiving grants from the Czech Musical Fund, the City of Ostrava and the Civic Foundation, Marlen has also won the Presser Musical Award and the Kate Neal Kinley Musical Fellowship. Her main teachers have included Nancy Ambrose King, Richard Killmer, Daniel Stolper, Josef Zidek, and Gabriel Sykora. Currently, she resides in Allendale, Michigan where she teaches at Grand Valley State University. Her CD „Czech and Moravian Oboe Music“ (Centaur Records) was hailed by Fanfare Magazine as “a must for all oboe fans” and Marlen was praised for playing “beautifully throughout, with a sensitive and lyrical touch, sure technique and intonation, and a range of dynamics unusually wide for oboists.” Her most recent CD, „Petr Eben: Chamber Music for Oboe“ (Toccata Classics) was selected by MusicWeb International as a CD of the month for November 2013.

Dušan Foltýn graduated from the Ostrava Conservatory and the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. From 1989 to 1991 he was a recipient of a Czech Music Fund stipend. During his studies he received several awards in international oboe competitions: 1st prize (national) and 2nd prize (international) in the Concertino Praga competition (1980), 1st prize in the Competition of Conservatories (1981), 2nd prize in the Competition of the Ministry of Culture (1986), 2nd prize and the Czech Music Youth prize in the Prague Spring international competition (1986), and 1st prize and the absolute winner in the Chomutov Competition of Czech Contemporary Music (1988). Currently, he is the principal oboist of the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1996 he has been a professor of oboe at the University of Ostrava (Faculty of Fine Arts).


Updated: 15. 03. 2019