For the second year in a row, Mercyhurst’s D’Angelo Department of Music will host piano- and string- instrument playing students in grades six to 12 for an all-day music workshop. The workshop will take place on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This program is designed to give students an early opportunity to learn and perform music in a collegiate environment. It also gives the participants a chance to receive individual attention from Music department faculty and majors.
Nathan Hess, D.M.A., chair of the D’Angelo Department of Music, is excited to be able to make this an annual event, after being pleasantly surprised by the response to the event last year.
“It’s a great recruiting event for us, to show people how great a department we have here, show off our faculty and our facilities and our program,” Hess said.
The morning will include group and private lessons, a music theory class and a practice time that will be supervised by Music majors. The practice time is a great opportunity for the students to get feedback from people studying music. This also gives Music and Music Education majors experience with teaching.
The group will break for lunch and optional campus tours before the students will return to listen to a lecture about the aspects of music. The lecture will include things such as a career in music, practice tips and how to prepare for auditions. At the end of the day, there will be a recital for all of the students in the Walker Recital Hall.
“It’s a lot of work for a one-day event because there’s so many different aspects to it that have to be in place,” said Hess. “We have some great student planners that have been helping us out: Kayla Bravchok and Mariana Mathewson, both string majors here, music ed.”
The Music department is expecting around 16 participants, a small number, but Hess feels that it is OK.
“It’s a nice amount for us to really offer some individual attention (and) personal mentoring,” Hess said.
Piano and Strings Day is certainly a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved. Participants can learn about music and their instrument in an intimate environment. Music majors get teaching experience, and Mercyhurst gets to show off its Music Department. All the students and the faculty will be working together to make this a successful day.
“It looks like it’s going to be another great year,” Hess said.