Agenda
Agenda
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The Camac Festival will soon be heading for Belfort – and to whet your appetite even more than our snazzy publicity materials already have done, we’ll be blogging some more about our programme over the next few days.
The Belfort long weekend will begin with distinguished Italian harpist Patrizia Tassini. Patrizia is Professor of Harp at the Conservatorio “J.Tomadini” in Udine, and also directs Ventaglio d’arpe, a big student harp ensemble. Her curriculum includes prizes in Israel and Bloomington, and at the Second International Harp Competition in Varallo. Today, she sits on competition jurys throughout the world, for example in Israel, Bloomington, at the Paris Conservatoire, at the Concours Félix Godefroid in Tournai, Belgrade, the Concours Martine Géliot, etc. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the World Harp Congress, and recently has given concerts and masterclasses throughout Europe, in China, Taiwan and Turkey.
“After eight years of harp lessons in Italy with the excellent teacher Evelina Vio, I applied to the Conservatoire National Superieur in Lyon. This wasn’t a big plunge into another way of working: Elisabeth Fontane-Binoche and Germaine Lorenzini continued to work on technique in order to bring out musicality, giving particular importance to a proper articulation. When the academic year was over, and straight after I won second prize at the International Harp Contest in Israel, I got a scholarship to work with Eileen Malone at Eastman School of Music. Here, I continued with the technique that is variously described as “French school” or “Grandjany”, but we always took care of stylistic interpretation by looking at the the texts of the different composers. My experience of the so-called Italian, French and American schools of harp playing was not one of big differences, but rather a shared project to deepen and perfect my musicianship.
The harp scene is even more global today, and the technical differences in harp teaching are getting smaller all the time. Harpists agree more and more on hand position, about pressure on the strings for a good sound…the mobility and communication we all have today makes it easier for us to find out about teachers all over the world, watch what they do and apply it to ourselves or to our students. This is good for the level, of course, the level goes up all the time.
In Udine, besides harp lessons, my students take both music and harp history classes. It’s important to understand both the instrument, and the different composers who write for it, for a good stylistic interpretation. I also think it’s very important for harpists to do chamber music even from a very young age, so that listening to other instruments and breathing with them becomes second nature. Also, the ear has to get used to the sound of the orchestra, and you have to learn how to follow a conductor. But orchestra can be difficult for young harpists, because they are alone, nobody else understands their instrument, and they don’t play all the time. My harp orchestra Ventaglio d’arpe is for all my students aged between eleven and thirty, so that they can experience performing together, and also have fun! Everybody plays, whether on an easy or a difficult part, and we are a group, both musically and socially. By working together with different levels, students can set themselves goals for the future, in a supportive atmosphere without any envy or jealousy.”
If you want to seize your chance to hear, and work with Patrizia, come to Belfort in October! Her solo recital will be on Friday, October 19th at 8PM; her masterclass the following morning from 10-1. Reserve your places via the form on our agenda page. -
06 Oct 2018
Congratulations are in order to the Gödöllö International Harp Festival, which is twenty years old this year! We are happy to be returning to the beautiful setting of the Royal Palace, as well as the Great Hall of the Academy of Music. The entire festival runs for over two weeks, with a great range of contributions across the world of Hungarian and international artists, and diverse sponsors and harp makers. Andrea Vigh, Rector of the Liszt Academy of Music, and Anastasia Razvalyaeva, Artistic Director of the International Harp Competition in Szeged, will open the festival with French and Spanish solo repertoire: Albéniz, Granados, Franck, Debussy and Rameau are all on the programme.
This will be followed by the “Camac weekend” of October 6th – 7th. On Saturday evening, Ben Creighton Griffiths will give a jazz concert – which will be your chance not only to discover Ben’s excellent blend of original music and jazz standards, but also how he turns the electroacoustic pedal harp into a one-man band.
On Sunday October 7th, also in the Royal Palace of Gödöllö at 7PM, Isabelle Moretti will give a solo recital: Tournier, Debussy, Fauré, Pierné, Grandjany, and also Ginastera, Quintanilla and De Falla. During the daytime, there will also be concerts by the winners of the Hungarian National Harp Competition; a presentation of different student harp ensembles performing together with Ben; a children’s concert directed by Andrea Vigh and Csilla Gulyás, our Hungarian partner; and the much-to-be-desired idea of a “Cheerful Harp Competition”, this one specially for beginners.
Jakobi Koncert, Hungary, or Camac Harps Hungary.
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A hallmark of our season is the Camac Festival. This takes place every year in a French-speaking region (usually France, once Geneva), and including a big tenth anniversary in Nancy, 2015. We also took the concept to the West Coast of the USA, in Pasadena (2016), and to Washington, DC (2017).
The Camac Festival was born through our wish to celebrate the harp throughout our francophone home territory – because it is emphatically not the case that wonderful harpists and busy harp communities are only found in Paris! Each Camac Festival brings a wide range of international artists, regional professionals, students and harp-lovers together, across every possible musical genre. Our commercial team also aim to provide an exceptional sales and service opportunity, close to home for our clients in the area. We bring the biggest exhibition of the year, and a full team of technicians to carry out complimentary regulations.
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+33 2 40 97 24 97
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Rave Harps, Camac France and Camac Singapore & Malaysia are thrilled that Isabelle Moretti is visiting Singapore at the end of this month. This will also be the first presentation of the Camac Canopée Concert Grand in Singapore.
More about the programme of concerts and masterclasses on the Camac blog.
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We’re delighted to be the principal sponsors of the third edition of the festival, which is co-organised by the National University of Music Bucharest, and the Romanian Harpists Association. Celebrating more than 125 years of the harp in Romania in 2018, the festival is free of charge for all who attend.
On October 26th, Chantal Mathieu will give the opening recital, with a programme of French and Spanish music (you can get a great taste of this in Chantal’s fantastic discography – we love her Tournier interpretations, her recording of works by Granados, Albeniz and more, and her most recent, all-Damase CD). Chantal will be preceded by a Romanian harp ensemble of over twenty lever and pedal harps, performing a special programme arranged for the occasion by Mladen Spasinovici.
Day two – Saturday, October 27th – will begin with masterclasses with Chantal, and Maria Bîldea. There will also be a chance to hear the next generation, in the ‘Young Expectations’ concert. Romanian harpists Miruna Vidican and Ionela Brădean will give recitals – and in the evening, so too will Romania’s most famous harpist and Founder Director of the Bucharest Harp Festival, Ion Ivan-Roncea. He will give a very special concert, performing with his daughters Ioana Nicolescu (harp), and Ștefana Ivan-Roncea (violin).
On Sunday, October 28th, Chantal Mathieu will give a lecture: “Harpa Rediviva”, which has us all intrigued already. Ferenc Papfalvi, our luthier colleague in Hungary, will also give a class, on harp maintenance. The afternoon is another chance to explore Romania’s wealth of harp talent, and with many national premiers on the programmes. Performers include Iuliana Bolgari, Rozalia Pataki, duoCell’Arpa (Roxana Moișanu, harp, and Mladen Spasinovici,cello), and colleagues Rafael Butaru (violin), Cătălina Cîrciu (violin), Cătălina Filipescu(viola), Iulian Ochescu (piano). The festival’s closing recital will be given by Maria Bîldea, together with Marilena Dori (flute). Born in Bucharest and a former student of Ion Ivan-Roncea’s class, Maria is now Principal Harp with the National Radio Symphony Orchestra of Athens.
Of course, your friendly Camac team will also be in situ with a harp exhibition! We are looking forward to many new discoveries and inspirations during this exciting long weekend. For further information, see the festival site.
Ion Ivan Roncea PhD, Founder Director
tel. 0724510930
[email protected]
www.ionivanroncea.roMia Ionescu – Artistic Secretary
tel. 021.3142637; www.unmb.roRoxana Moișanu, Founder President of the Romanian Harpist Association
tel. 0723672263
[email protected]
https://asociatiaharpistilordinromania.ro/Florin Dinu, Founding Vice-President of the Romanian Harpist Association
tel. 0722785378
[email protected] -
Our Prague Harp Festival will take place between November 2 – 3, 2018, organised by Barbora Plachá of Camac Harps Czech Republic. On the programme: concerts, masterclasses and workshops by Sylvain Blassel and Nikolaz Cadoret, a recital by the rising stars of the Czech harp scene, plus a special Camac exhibition.
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To celebrate our new partnership with Shimro in South Korea, we are looking forward to a concert with Isabelle Moretti, at the Ilshin Hall in Seoul on November 5th, 7:30PM. Her programme includes works by Tournier, Debussy, Grandjany, Quintanilla, Albéniz, Ginastera, De Falla, and Pierné. She will also perform chamber music by Saint-Saëns, with special guest Dong-Suk Kang. For ticket information, please contact Shimro.
This is also the first presentation of the Camac Canopée in South Korea.
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We will be celebrating our new partnership with Irish distributeur Musikkon, at Blessington Music in November. Clíona Doris, Denise Kelly and Tristan Le Govic will be joining us to offer you a fantastic programme of courses and concerts! From perfecting your technique, to immersing yourself in Irish repertoire and even how to look after your harp, there is something for everyone, across all levels and from classical to traditional music – with a few surprises thrown in. Don’t miss all tutors in concert at the end, with a special focus on Irish composers from Clíona and Denise, and a new programme from Tristan – Dañs.
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Áine O’Neill
[email protected]
