1140 Boylston Street, MS-155 SP
Boston, MA, 022215-3693
General
The last decade has seen an explosion of talent and creativity in all the musical worlds inhabited not only by violin, viola, and cello, but also banjo, mandolin, and related instruments. Young players now view it as their goal to learn jazz and classical as well as bluegrass and various other folk styles. Modern string virtuosos such as Bla Fleck, Mark O’Connor, and Chris Thile have set an enormously high bar in terms of instrumental craft, compositional sophistication, and chamber music and band skills. This year, Berklee unveils the Acoustic String Festival to recognize these advances. The program will build on the core curriculum of past String Fling programs, teaching improvisation to violin, viola, and cello players, but expanding that teaching to admit other instruments traditionally found in a bluegrass band such as acoustic mandolin and guitar. Players will have the opportunity to study with and be coached by world-renowned mandolinist John McGann, and be trained in musical elements necessary to perform at a high level in a wide range of roots music styles. As a student in one of Berklee’s summer programs, you will spend much of your time in classes between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. every weekday. But when you have a break between classes or time after school, you can find jam sessions, make use of the private practice rooms, or visit the Learning Center, which is equipped with 40 computer synthesizer workstations featuring the latest in educational software.