JSO NEWS

Breaking News on the Classical Scene in Jamaica

Within days of their outstanding performance in

Jacksonville, Florida, the
Next Generation String
Quartet was hired to play
at the wedding of Britains
celebrity photographer,
Jack Brockway and Alexandra Chong
Jack Brockway. Jack, who
is the nephew of billionaire and owner of the Virgin Atlantic Airline, Richard Branson, will wed Alexandra Chong, Founder &
CEO of the highly-acclaimed female app, Lulu. The wedding
will be held on Saturday, June 6th at one of the most sought
after villas in Jamaica: Frankfort in Ocho Rios.
The members of the string quartet will be shuttled from Kingston
to Ocho Rios, then taken by boat to the exclusive property
which is historically graced by royalty, celebrities and politicians
such as Winston Churchill, among others. There, the young
musicians will mingle with international celebrities as they take
centre stage to perform at several high points during the wedding, including when the bride walks down the aisle.

MAY 2015

Next Generation members looking super relaxed at the Florida Federation

of Music Clubs Competition in Jacksonville, Florida on May 8, 2015.
LR: Jada Walker, Danyella Richards, Ellie Hind, Luke Walker.

The Next Generation String Quartet was launched in December 2014 by Dr. Lisa Walker
to establish a new standard for string quartet in the region and to create a young musical force in the
world. Since then, the members have been subjected to a rigorous training schedule to transform the quartet
into a world-class product. This paid off recently when the group won their string quartet category of the Florida
Federation of Music Clubs Competition in Jacksonville, Florida. Each of the quartet members also won in other categories to take
home eight trophies among them. This represents one of the largest sweeps from a small group and the first in the history of Jamaica.

As anticipated, Jacob Chen recently created history by becoming the youngest viola player to compete and win in the viola category of the
Florida Federation of Music Club (FFMC) Competition in Jacksonville, Florida recently. Currently coached by Dr.
Lisa Walker, Jacob at age 5 years old is easily one of the youngest viola players in the world today. In fact, his
small 11 inch viola had to be specially ordered by Allegro Music Centre in Miami directly from the manufacturer
as violas are not made for kids that young. Since his success, a number of teachers in Florida have contacted
Dr. Walker to share her secret on how to get kids so young to play the viola that is designed for kids 8 years and
above. Born to teach, the Doctor has a reputation for bringing out the best in her students. Not surprisingly, most
of her students who competed in Jacksonville won an award. Also, just last month, all of her students received
distinctions in their ABRSM exams in Great Britain.

Jacob Chen preparing for his

viola solo that earned him a
trophy and a place in history

Members of the Next Generation String

Quartet displaying their trophies
LR: Luke, Ellie, Danyella, Jada

The journey of success in Florida started in January 2015

when Dr. Lisa Walker created
history by arranging for her students in Jamaica to compete in
the FFMC Competition by video
conference. This was allowed
Luke Walker displaying his trophy
Jada Walker winning the
under a special provision for
for winning his cello sight play
viola solo category
Ellie
and
Danyella
happy
for
their
expatriates with studios oversuccess in the Violin Duet
seas but had never been used
in the history of the competition. As a result, the officials in
Florida had to change their
normal procedures to facilitate
this initiative from Jamaica.
The judges were so impressed
with the performances from
Jamaica that they gave all the
Kennedy Brown in rehearsal with
Ellie, Danyella, and Luke watch as Manuel Barbarian of
the accompanist in Ft Lauderdale
students the highest rating
Luke Walker and Isabel Chen
Allegro Music Centre in Miami adjust their instruments
before her outstanding viola solo
looking pleased with their achievefor
the
competition
in
Jacksonville.
available, which qualified them
performance
ment in the Cello Duet
for the Finals. But despite this,
Dr. Walkers application for the Finals was rejected because of an issue with its
postmark. Armed with a pen, the Doctor successfully appealed the decision to
clear the way for her students to participate in the Finals. The next challenge
was to find an accompanist in Florida at short notice. Determined that2 her students would not be disadvantaged, Dr. Walker finally hired a
top accompanist in Fort Lauderdale who usually accompanies the winners. This meant that the students had to fly into Fort Lauderdale for
rehearsals before going to Jacksonville for the Finals. After one-day of rehearsals with the accompanist, the Jamaican team was ready.

As preparation for the upcoming Hillel Orchestra Concert moves into its
final week, the orchestra is literally on fire as the kids shift into concert
mode. With just under 50 kids lined up to unleash their musical power at
the concert on Saturday, May 30th, music lovers are advised to secure
their tickets from now to be guaranteed a seat. If the success of the last
concert in December is any indication of what to expect, then patrons are
really in for a treat this year as the orchestra students have chosen songs
from popular movies as the theme of their presentation.
To secure your tickets, call (876) 925-1980/ (876) 276-8630 or visit Hillel's
main reception. Tickets may also be purchased at the event.
The Hillel Orchestra was launched one year ago (May 2014) with a handful of players. Since then, the orchestra has been creating waves in the
Hillel Community as Dr. Walker moulds the group into becoming one of
the best youth orchestras on the island. As news of the orchestra
spreads, the group has been contracted to perform at a number of community events, including a fund raiser at Stella Maris for the Grants Pen
Community and New Day All Age School this past Friday.
Based on the level of progress and success achieved in one year, it is
easy to imagine what the orchestra will become in 5 years as the Violin
Doctor develops the next generation of classical musicians in Jamaica.

Members of the Hillel Orchestra performing during the dress rehearsal for the Concert on Saturday, May 30th.
Cellists in Front Row, LR: Cameron Brown, Brady Holmes, Tobias Levy, Emil Hazell, and Christian Rampair.

Tropical Rhythms: A String Project in Jamaica (Extract) - Part 6

Tropical Rhythms, a String Project in Jamaica, transpired from 1997 to 2001 under the leadership of Dr. Lisa Walker, who later submitted
the project as partial fulfilment of the requirements for her Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Claremont Graduate University in California.
The following is a continuation of the extract from the project.

WHAT AM I SAYING NOW?

A substantial number of recognized beginning string instruction methods
emphasize the importance of a functional bow hold for proficient tone production. A bow hold that enables a player to achieve maximum flexibility
through proper finger placement is deemed a functional bow hold. In The
String Play, Phyllis Young dedicates an entire chapter to imaginative bow
games designed to increase awareness of the sounding point, develop bow
control and improve tone production.
In Suzuki teacher training, the position and function of the fingers on the bow
hand is highlighted by giving a name to each finger: guide or lazy finger for
the index finger; huggers for the middle and ring finger; Dr. curved pinky
for the pinky finger; and Mr. Bent Thumb for the thumb. In addition, Dr.
Suzuki scored four variations of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the very first
song in Book 1, to develop primary bow dexterity.
Micah Holness demonstrating
effective bow technique

Participants of the string project were consistently encouraged to focus on

the bow, as 100% of the sound comes from the bow. Frequently, in illustration of this principle, I challenged a pupil to produce as much sound as they
could from the left-hand only. It often took less than a second for the pupil to
return a smile of comprehension.

The following are several exercises for developing bow technique, which I developed for the students of the string project:Tone Colors: For beginning exercise and warm-up, I employed long bows on open strings, with attention on clear, solid tone production. Additionally, a variance of tone color was encouraged. For the very youngest students, we often played the color game. In this
game, the student thinks of a color and tries to reproduce that color with his paint brush (bow) on an open string. Invariably, the pupil
learned to vary the bow speed according to the desired color: lighter colors require less pressure and slower bow speed while darker
colors demand greater pressure and a faster bow speed. In response, the parent or teacher tries to guess what color the child was
thinking of. This game encourages awareness of tone colors and stimulates interest in the development of bow skill. After this technique was mastered on open strings, application of colors to their respective repertoire was encouraged.
Radio station reception: An analogy of radio station reception to elicit clear tone on the violin worked well in the string project. This
analogy is especially relevant to students of Jamaica, as radio broadcasts still comprise the primary form of communication in this developing country. In the radio station exercise, the student and I both listen to assess the quality of the radio station reception, which is
the tone being produced on the violin, throughout an etude or piece. Together we identify areas of increased static or poor tone production. Teacher and student interplay of this kind makes the student both cognizant of and responsible for their tone production.
One particularly useful activity, employed during private lessons and master classes, entails an examination of what is said with ones
bow without words. This activity develops awareness for the non-verbal aspect of music making. For example, if the performer uses
too little bow and produces a small tone, the performer may be saying, I am nervous or I dont want you to hear what I am playing.
Alternatively, a production of a full, generous tone, varying the tone color as the music dictates, sends the message that one is comfortable with what they are saying. Activities of this sort highlight the presence and power of non-verbal communication in music-making.
Continued in the next JSO Newsletter