Next week, on May 12th, 13th and 14th, three string masterclasses will take place on the Rīga Jūrmala Academy Facebook page led by world-famous musicians: Chicago Symphony Orchestra Principal Violinist Robert Chen, Principal Cellist John Sharp, and Gautier Capuçon, one of the 21st century’s leading cellists. The masterclasses, which can be viewed by all who are interested, will feature students from the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music and pupils from the Emīls Dārziņš Music Secondary School.
The masterclass with Robert Chen will take place on Wednesday, May 12th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Chen is an experienced Principal Violinist for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and an exciting solo musician who has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra and others. Born in Taiwan, Chen started playing the violin at the age of seven. Before joining the Chicago Symphony, Chen won first place at the International Violin Competition Hanover.
The masterclass with Robert Chen can be viewed on the Riga Jūrmala Academy Facebook page HERE!
On Thursday, May 13th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., you can watch a cello masterclass with John Sharp, who holds the honour of being the youngest principal musician in the history of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Born in Texas, Sharp studied the cello with Lev Aronson, and later with Lynn Harrell at the Juilliard School, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and his Master’s degrees. Before joining the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, as well as the Principal Cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Sharp is a winner of the Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition.
View the masterclass with John Sharp on the Rīga Jūrmala Academy Facebook page HERE!
The masterclass with Gautier Capuçon will take place on Friday, May 14th from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.. Capuçon is one of the 21st century’s best cellists, performing often with the world’s leading conductors and instrumentalists, and is the founder of Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle as well as Head of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. Capuçon has won many prizes and the acclaim of critics for his expressive playing, excellent virtuosity and the particularly deep, saturated sound of his instrument, a 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello.
You can watch Gautier Capuçon’s masterclass on the Rīga Jūrmala Academy Facebook page HERE!
Online Rīga Jūrmala masterclasses have already taken place this year, with leading musicians from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra including Omar Tomasoni (trumpet), Dominic Seldis (double bass), Gregor Horsch (cello), Emily Beynon (flute) and Alexei Ogrintchouk (oboe); the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra including Lionel Cottet (cello); French violinist Renaud Capuçon and German baritone Benjamin Appl; as well as masterclasses with British mezzo soprano Alice Coote and world-class tenor Joseph Calleja.
