(Photo above: John Fawcett playing violin, courtesy of HDCM)
High Desert Chamber Music announces the acceptance of their Spotlight Chamber Players alumnus, John Fawcett, to the Colburn Conservatory of Music. He will join the studio of famed violin instructor Robert Lipsett.
The Colburn School is a performing arts school with a focus on music and dance located in Downtown Los Angeles adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art and across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The acceptance rate is around 5% of applicants after a rigorous and lengthy application/audition process.
The Spotlight Chamber Players are part of High Desert Chamber Music’s Educational Outreach programs. Auditions are held annually for violin, viola, cello, and bass students in grades 6-12 with three or more years of private study and intermediate to advanced levels of playing. This program provides a high level of chamber music instruction to aspiring young musicians. Included are weekly chamber music sessions with HDCM Executive Director and professional violinist, Isabelle Senger, and select visiting artists, as well as complimentary admission to all HDCM events and compensated performance opportunities throughout the year.
“Ms. Senger’s insight into chamber music, as well as getting the opportunity, as a violinist, to play viola, made me a more versatile musician,” states Fawcett. “Through HDCM master classes, Ms. Senger also used her exceptional connections to bring leading musicians to Central Oregon, where young music students would otherwise have no such resources.”
Over the past few years, Fawcett performed in Master Classes with renowned conductor and violist, Heiichiro Ohyama, and Principal Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Martin Chalifour. These annual Master Classes are offered in partnership with the Oregon branch of the American String Teachers Association. Students from around the state audition and are selected through ASTA, then perform publicly and receive critique from one of HDCM’s guest artists. These classes are rare opportunities for promising young students to work with some of our nation’s finest musicians.
High Desert Chamber Music’s mission is to bring world class chamber music and musicians to Central Oregon. Now in their eleventh season, HDCM presents an acclaimed series of classical chamber music concerts in Central Oregon, ranging from piano duos to string sextets. As the premier and leading chamber music organization in the region, HDCM offers an exciting roster of professional performing artists.