ENGLEWOOD, N.J.—The 24th annual Elisabeth Morrow School Summer String Festival for children ages 4 to 13 will be held from Aug. 12 to 16 at The Elisabeth Morrow School in Englewood.
For five days in August, 220 young violinists, violists, cellists, harpists, and bassists will rehearse and perform Stravinsky, Bach, Handel, and Puccini in an
instructional and joyful music training program created by Amelia Gold, music director for The Elisabeth Morrow School and the Summer String Festival.
Gold is a Juilliard graduate and accomplished violinist who has accompanied Madonna, toured with the Juilliard Orchestra in France, and coached Meryl Streep for her role in “Music of the Heart.”
Community members and media are encouraged to attend the “Performance Workshop with DuoSkope” on Tuesday, August 13 at 2:15 p.m. The eagerly anticipated public performance will take place on Thursday, Aug. 15 at 1:30 p.m. All performances will be held in the Peter Lawrence Gymkhana. “Libertango” by Astor Piazzolla will be performed by DuoSkope in a public session with the young musicians.
Over 300 students auditioned for the Festival in May 2018, some from as far away as Paris and Korea. Among the accepted students, one-third of the children selected by Gold to participate come from underserved communities within New York and New Jersey. Many of these students will receive scholarships and financial aid funded by The Russell Berrie Foundation and private donations. A team of highly trained musicians, including faculty and String Festival alumni will provide the students with individualized and in-depth training.
DuoSkope is quickly establishing itself as one of today’s most sought after string duos. Violinist Evin Blomberg and cellist Natalie Helm are giving the string duo a more vital presence in both the classical and crossover music worlds. From music videos of newly constructed arrangements of popular classics to live performances of almost the entire violin and cello duo classical repertoire, DuoSkope reaches an increasingly wide audience base. DuoSkope’s unique presence through YouTube and other forms of social media bring performances to audiences worldwide.
The Elisabeth Morrow School Summer String Festival receives additional support from the school’s alumni network and current families of the school.
The program has spawned many outstanding musicians that have gone on to Juilliard School of Music, Mannes Music School and Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Over 80 alumni return to rehearse, mentor, and perform with the young students.
Alumni of the Summer String Festival include:
• Kevin Lin, co-leader and concertmaster of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, was a previous student and counselor of the EMS program.
• Britney Sklar attended when she was 7 and 8 years old and has been on the faculty for the past 10 years, after attending Juilliard and Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
• Caleb Vanderswaagh attended Juilliard and Columbia, receiving a double degree from Juilliard. He is a member of Ensemble ACJW, a program of Carnegie Hall.
• Nicole Wright, from East Harlem Violin Program, studied at Mannes College of Music and has her doctorate in music education from Rutgers. She is back at the East Harlem Violin Program teaching.