CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, 515-271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu
The dawn of the new semester brings several outlets to unleash your musical creativity, such as the Drake Community Chorus, private lessons at the Drake Community School of Music, small chamber ensembles and scholarship awards for cello lessons.
- An informational meeting and placement audition will be held on Saturday, Jan. 20, for string players and pianists interested in participating in small chamber ensembles. The meeting will start at 10 a.m. in room 204 of the Harmon Fine Arts Center. Auditions will follow at 10:15 a.m. Drake music faculty members Lin He and Ashley Sidon will work with individual ensembles in weekly, 45-minute private coaching sessions. Recitals will occur during the spring semester. The cost of participating in an ensemble is $16.50 per person per session. To reserve an audition time, call 515-271-4011.
- Middle school and high school cellists are invited to audition Saturday, Jan. 20, for scholarship awards for free cello instruction at Drake during the spring semester. The lessons will be conducted by Ashley Sidon, Drake assistant professor of cello. Before joining the Drake faculty, Sidon was cello teacher/chamber music coach and lecturer in 20th century music at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in Shanghai, China. For application materials and audition requirements, call 515-271-4011.
- The Drake University/Community Chorus rehearses Tuesday evenings 6:30 to 8 p.m. throughout the spring semester under the direction of Aimee Beckmann-Collier, professor of conducting. The first rehearsal was held Tuesday, Jan. 16. The chorus is an ensemble that provides members of the Greater Des Moines community, as well as Drake students and staff, with the opportunity to sing masterworks of the choral repertoire. The ensemble will perform Brahms’ “Requiem” on April 15. For more information, contact 515-271-2841 or aimee.beckmann-collier@drake.edu.
- The 16-week spring semester for the Drake University Community School of Music began Tuesday, Jan. 16, with private lessons for children and adults at all levels in piano, voice, strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, harp, organ and music theory. Lessons are also available in the young violinist program, which is designed for children ages 3-8. Tuition is $22 per lesson or $352 for the entire spring semester. To enroll, call 515-271-4011.
For more information regarding the Drake University Community School of Music, contact Christine Schneider at 515-271-4011 or christine.schneider@drake.edu.