Hello, and welcome to our newly updated website! Whether you are a parent, a student, teacher, alumni, donor, prospective student, or just curious, there is plenty to find here. So please look around and explore.
Founded in 1990, the String Academy of Wisconsin (SAW) has already become one of this country’s model schools, offering students between the ages of 4 and 18 a comprehensive musical education with a focus on the violin, viola or cello. Highly qualified artist faculty provide musical instruction based on the methods and philosophies of Mimi Zweig, Shinichi Suzuki, and Paul Rolland. The special training, experience, and expertise of the SAW faculty in the musical training of young people results in students playing with technical ease and musical sensitivity. SAW’s summer teacher training workshops are attended by string players from across the United States, Canada and Europe.
SAVE THE DATE: 20th Anniversary Celebration Concert, May 24th, 2010, 7:00 P.M. details to follow
On Saturday, January 30, almost 60 String Academy students participated in a recording of a special arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner, affectionately referred to as the “SAW” Spangled Banner. The level of excitement and discipline was was overwhelming, and the results speak for themselves. Congratulations to all who were involved! Keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned for further developments.
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Continue reading for Audio recording and photo gallery…
On Sunday, February 7 the SAW Violin Virtuosi and the Northwestern Strings from the pre-college program at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL will present a joint concert in the UWM Peck School of the Arts Recital Hall at 2:00 p.m. This performance is free and open to the public. It will feature both ensemble pieces and solos and will last approximately one hour. This is the latest in a series of annual collaborations involving the Violin Virtuosi and groups from other pre-college programs around the country.
We are very excited to announce the addition of another guest masterclass at the String Academy with world-famous violinist Vadim Repin, to be held on March 6, 2010, at the UWM Peck School of the Arts Recital Hall from 10:30-12:00. This is the second class in a series of classes sponsored by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with the String Academy of Wisconsin and the Peck School of the Arts.
Vadim Repin will be in town to perform the sublime Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Milwaukee Symphony on March 5th, 6th, and 7th. (Tickets may be purchased here) Described by violin patriarch Yehudi Menuhin to be “simply the best, most perfect violinist I have ever heard,” Mr. Repin has taken his place as one of the greatest violinists of all time. You can learn more about this living legend at his website, or go to YouTube to see an incredible display of virtuosity during a performance of Paganini’s “Carneval di Venezia”.
Kartik Papatla observes a demonstration by Johannes Moser
On January 10, 2010, Johanness Moser gave a guest masterclass at the String Academy. The masterclass was one in a series of classes made possible by a partnership with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the String Academy of Wisconsin, and was atteneded by a large audience of students families, and guests. Four students participated in the class: Deborah Woo played Scherzo by Weber, Christian Morzinski performed Faure’s Elegy, Katie Wasielewsky introduced the audience to Van Goens’ Tarentella, and Kartik Papatla finished up will Haydn’s famous Cello Concerto in C. All were accompanied by fine pianist and SAW friend, Stefanie Jacob.
Mr. Moser’s charisma, warmth, and humor were a big hit with the audience and performers alike. Perhaps most memorable was his advice on vibrato. When discussing the importance of vibrating all notes in a passage, Mr. Moser said, “It’s like you have a family of four, but you only love two of your children.” His point, of course, was that we should “love”/vibrate all of our “children”/fingers/notes – and not play favorites!
Another helpful tip was an excellent vibrato exercise, which you can see demonstrated in the following video clip. “Every morning,” Mr. Moser told the class, turn on your metronome to 60, and practice first two vibratos per click/per bow, then three, then four, then six, then eight, until . . . you’re vibrating so fast that you “fly away!”
Many thanks to Mr. Moser and Milwaukee Symphony for making this class possible.
And from the mail bag:
Dear Darcy,
The cello master class was a wonderful event! Seamus was thoroughly capitivated– which at his age (7), was truly wonderful to see. The cello students did a fantastic job and Mr. Moser was extremely engaging.
Many thanks to you and to the String Academy for planning such a stellar experience. We feel very fortunate to be able to participate in the master class and the String Academy on the whole.
Best,
Grace
Grace La
Associate Professor
UWM School of Architecture & Urban Planning
Principal, LA DALLMAN www.ladallman.com
Several String Academy students did very well recently in some important competitions around town. Tarryck Kalishek, violin, was winner of the Milwauke Youth Symphony Orchestra’s Philharmonia concerto competition. Abigail Schneider was also given an Honorable Mention in the Sinfonia division
Tarryck, along with Seth Leinbach and Alexis Lindsey were given Honorable Mention at the 2010 Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition. They will now have the opportunity to play in the orchestra side-by-side in the Young Artist concert later this year. Congratulations on all your hard work and practicing!
Tarryck is a student of Darcy Drexler, Seth is a student of David Anderson, and Alexis and Abigail are students of Katherine Brooks.
On Saturday, January 9th, violinist and String Academy alum Alex Ayers (class of 2007) performed for several group classes. On the program were solo caprices by Paganini and Bach’s second Solo Sonata. After performing, Alex talked about life at Indiana University, where he is currently a Junior music performance major studying with Mimi Zweig. It should be mentioned that he sounded wonderful! Thank you for stopping by, Alex!
In case you missed it, please enjoy these two videos from our YouTube channel:
I Musici de Montréal has developed a well-deserved reputation as one of the world’s finest chamber orchestras. Known for its gutsy, passionate music-making, I Musici de Montréal presents imaginative programs that draw on repertoire spanning the centuries. Under the direction of cellist Yuli Turovsky, the orchestra performs more than 100 concerts annually. Everywhere it appears, the orchestra’s precision, cohesion and distinctive sound charm audiences and critics. Fanfaremagazine recently added its voice to the chorus of praise when it named I Musici de Montréal “one of the best chamber orchestras in North America.” The performance will include a special multimedia performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. www.imusici.com
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is collaborating with the String Academy of Wisconsin and the Peck School of the Arts to present a series of guest artist master classes in 2009-10. Three of the MSO’s guest artists-Jeremy Denk, Johannes Moser, and Garrick Ohlsson-will visit prior to their MSO concerts to work with Peck School and String Academy students. These master classes are free and open to the public.
Joahnnes Moser
Saturday, January 16, 2010, 10:30 -12
Johannes Moser, cello
PSOA Recital Hall, Arts Center, 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd.
MSO Concert Dates: January 15, 2010 at 8:00 pm & January 16, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Johannes Moser offers a master class for String Academy students.
For more information on these guest artists, click here. To see a short video about Mosser and his work, continue reading more…
We are pleased to announce the winner of the String Academy 2009 Art Competition is the Boyland family with this excellent design. Look for this design more in the future. Maybe on a t-shirt? For all the other entries, check out our gallery on facebook.
On Sunday, February 7 the SAW 
