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Message from Frances Feldon, Director:

I'm very pleased to announce our program for the upcoming July 19-25, 2009 SFEMS Recorder Workshop at St Albert’s Priory in Oakland, CA. Please join us for a jam-packed week of recorder classes, ensemble playing, wonderful concerts, and the opportunity to improve your skills. We offer you a weeklong opportunity to work with highly regarded recorder specialists in a friendly and intimate, yet serious, atmosphere, on a quiet campus adjacent to the amenities of a large city.

Our faculty for 2009 includes:

• Louise Carslake, Oakland, CA
• Frances Feldon, Berkeley, CA
• Rotem Gilbert, Pasadena, CA
• Katherine Heater, Piedmont CA
• Norbert Kunst, The Netherlands
• Patrick O’Malley, Chicago, IL
• Hanneke van Proosdij, El Cerrito, CA

Check out the faculty biographies.

Enroll online now.
Registration is now full for the recorder workshop. If you would like to be on a waiting list, please complete an enrollment form. We will accept names for the waiting list in the order received and will let you know as soon as there is an opening when that occurs.

Curriculum overview

Our curriculum this year includes some new and old components. Rotating technique instructors continues to be a resounding success, and will be repeated again next year -- participants experience every instructor and a range of technical topics.

We will offer an array of late morning and afternoon ensembles. Topics will range from medieval to Renaissance and baroque, and from contemporary to crossover. Recorder Orchestra rehearses every morning with Norbert Kunst. Katherine Heater, our resident harpsichordist, is a welcome addition to the recorder workshop teaching tradition.

Special course offerings in 2009:

• Ensemble class topic range from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Past topics have included: 14th century mass movements for recorders, William Byrd for recorders, Telemann concertos for recorders, and jazz arrangements for recorder.
• Technique classes at every level on a wide variety of useful topics with rotating instructors
• Recorder Orchestra every morning conducted by Maestro Norbert Kunst
• Optional master class every day with resident harpsichordist Katherine Heater
• Friendly atmosphere, small classes

Evening activities in 2009:

• Coached informal playing sessions
• Faculty concerts
• Lecture/demonstration
• Student performances: recorder orchestra, class recital, Open Mike

A variety of engaging evening activities are planned. We will open the workshop with an all-workshop playing session on Sunday evening led by Louise Carslake. On Monday evening, Eileen Hadidian will present an informative lecture/demonstration. Peter Maund will offer an in-depth workshop on Wednesday afternoon (for those who don’t want to take time off!) on some aspect of rhythm in early music or on early hand drum technique. Thursday night features our annual auction to benefit the workshop and a repeat of last year’s wildly popular Open Mike. You can be sure to find many opportunities for impromptu ensemble playing organized by workshop participants.

Special concerts begin Tuesday night with the faculty doing solo and ensemble recorder sonatas with basso continuo accompaniment (Katherine Heater and Amy Brodo); Friday night features YOU (the Recorder Orchestra!) in a half-program, with the faculty performing consort music for a half-program. Saturday morning is a student class concert.

See our latest daily schedule.

About St Albert’s Priory:

St Albert’s Priory, a Dominican college campus, is a beautiful, quiet and collegial ivy-covered brick oasis one block off College Avenue in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, CA. It is two blocks and a five-minute walk from the Rockridge BART station, so is easily accessible (by BART) from any part of the Bay Area via public transportation. Ample parking is available for commuters who drive. College Avenue is an attractive upscale shopping area with lots of boutiques, cafes, and excellent restaurants. You may choose to stay on campus. All rooms on campus are singles containing a bed, desk, armchair, closet and sink; toilets and showers are dorm style (down the hall, with individual cubicles). The rooms are extremely nice and overlook the serene inner courtyard garden of the priory. Meals are available in the priory dining room (the refectory, that is!), and the menu is very simple but well crafted. You may purchase a commuter meal plan AHEAD OF TIME even if you don’t stay on campus. The classrooms available to us are roomy and nice. For recorder orchestra, we have the use of the incredibly beautiful main chapel, with gorgeous woodwork and stained glass.

If you would like to view some pictures of the chapel go to: http://sap.opwest.org/ and click on “photo galleries.”

Comments from our 2007/2008 Recorder Workshop participants:

“For me, this was head and shoulders above the other workshops…This was smaller, more fine-tuned to different levels, friendlier, much more accessible faculty…I learned tons more, and came away enthusiastic as opposed to totally drained!”

“I liked the breadth offered – hard to choose!” Well done! I liked the variety…from Buxtehude to the blues! …. This was great and inspired me to do more.”

“I really liked having exposure to the five different teachers for technique, each with his/her different topic and slant … I commend you for finding such a lovely, serene and conveniently located venue.”

“Thanks for the great workshop! I think it was the best I have ever attended. I liked the St Albert’s Priory venue very much and think that it added to the quality of the workshop for me …”

“I was amazed at the overall spirit and feelings that I had at this workshop! Especially the way all teachers approached our classes with such focus and attention to our needs, questions, etc., and the loveliness of it all. Thank you.”

Workshop Fees

The fee for the Recorder workshop is $425 for enrollment by May 1, and $475 for enrollment received after May 1. Discounts are available for SFEMS members and for enrollment in more than one workshop. Room and board at St. Albert's Priory is $325, single occupancy only. All details are on the online enrollment form. Scholarships are available from:

• American Recorder Society
• Your local ARS chapter, e.g. EBRS.
• Early Music America
• The SFEMS Recorder Workshop. Print the application form.

Enroll online via our secure form!

Registration is now full for the recorder workshop. If you would like to be on a waiting list, please complete an enrollment form. We will accept names for the waiting list in the order received and will let you know as soon as there is an opening when that occurs.

After enrolling, please come back to here to download or print your Registration Packet:

• Informational Welcome Letter
• Daily schedule
• Registration form.     Please fill it out and mail it in.
• Curriculum guide / Course selection form.     Fill this out too.
• Scholarship information and application
  

The Small Print

SFEMS reserves the right to modify programs and faculty, without notice, as needed to match enrollment and student preferences. Participants enrolling before May 1 pay a lower tuition rate. A non-refundable minimum deposit of $100 per week is required. IF YOU CANCEL WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF A WORKSHOP, PAYMENT OF FULL TUITION IS REQUIRED. A full room & board payment is required to reserve your room. This payment is fully refundable until 5 weeks before your workshop. All fees must be paid in full by the first day of the event. Room and board at Sonoma State University and St. Albert’s Priory are optional, and single meals, including a vegetarian menu, are available. Smoking is not permitted in campus buildings. Be there or be square! Hope to see you this summer.

Frances Feldon, Director and Katherine Heater, Co-Director

For further information, contact Frances Feldon at (510) 527-9840 or franfel@aol.com.

Last updated 06/07/2009.