String Area
The University of Utah School of Music offers B.A, B.M., M.M and D.M.A degrees in string performance. The faculty draws on a multitude of talent, including performers from the Utah Symphony and other leading orchestras and ensembles. Members of the string faculty are also nationally and internationally active as part of the University of Utah Chamber Players.
The student-body consists of ca. 40 performance majors and ca. 60 non-majors. The School of Music offers a number of activities essential to the education of a professional string player: Private lessons in all instruments a well as intense orchestra and chamber music courses, prividing the student with a multitude of performance opportunities
faculty (faculty listing)
Orchestra
To learn more about the activities of string players in the University of Utah Orchestras, click here
Chamber Music
Chamber music playing is essential to the development of any performer. For the string player it is especially important to work in an intimate setting with other string players to gain maximum understanding of challenges in string playing, such as intonation and phrasing.
The Chamber Music Program at The U is designed to give the students the best possible education in ensemble playing through instruction from an experienced, world-class faculty. The program is organized by Drs. Amy Leung and Hasse Borup, both internationally acclaimed chamber music performers.
The Graduate String Quartet
The University of Utah School of Music offers four T.A. awards to sustain the Graduate String Quartet. Audition for the spots happens on a rotating basis (please inquire about audition opportunities here. The Quartet fundctions as musical ambassadors for the University as well as outreach educators.
Mount Olympus and O.C.Tanner Honors Quartets
The University of Utah School of Music has two endowed honors quartets, sponsored by Mount Olympus Water Company and O.C.Tanner Foundation. The acceptance into these ensembles is on a competitive basis, with an audition at the beginning of each fall semester. The ensembles are designed to fulfill the needs of the top-motivated, dedicated string player who is looking for a serious string quartet experience. These two flagship ensembles frequently performs on and off campus at both educational and formal settings. Please contact Dr. Borup for more information on audition requirements.
Next Audition date is August 31, 2009, 5PM. Call the music office to set up an audition time (801.581.6762). Please click on links to access audition requirements for violin, viola and cello (excerpts may change):
Summer Chamber Music Workshop
The Summer Chamber Music Workshop at the U is a new initiative (summer 2009). The program is aimed at giving both the serious high school junior/senior and college level students an opportunity to work in-depth on the great masterworks of the chamber music repertoire. The program is open to string players and pianists, ages 14-25. To download application and get more detailed information click here
Chamber Music Outreach Program
The Graduate Quartet, The O.C. Tanner and Mount Olympus Honors Quartets visits about 5-6 area high schools each fall semester as part of the Chamber Music Outreach Program. The quartets deliver 45 min. presentations on the Art of String Quartet playing, aimed mainly at the serious high school student. During its inaugural season, this program has been a significant success and has attracted significant attention from local students interested in pursuing chamber music at a high level. Please see right column for photos.
Instrument Acoustics Workshop
In 2006, a unique partnership was initiated between The University of Utah School of Music and the Violin Making School of America (VMSA), based in Salt Lake City. Dr. Borup and Mr. Prier (VMSA founder) developed an educational concept, based on bringing the students of the two schools together to discuss issues of sound in string instruments. So far there has been three such workshops, where students from the U's Chamber Music Program have played multiple instruments, including brand new instruments made by VMSA students, often with very surprising results. The acclaimed string magazine, The Strad, featured an article by Dr. Borup on the spring 2006 Instrument Acoustics Workshop in the August 2006 issue. To read a pdf version of the article, click here.