Clarinet Weekend

Immerse yourself in a joyful weekend of music-making, and receive expert guidance from clarinet players, David Campbell and Margaret Archibald, with pianist John Flinders in this popular, lively weekend course. Experience a wide range of clarinet playing, with sessions dedicated to ensemble playing in quartets and a full clarinet choir. Gain a range of skills and techniques, from help with note accuracy and counting, to intonation, tone quality and interpretation. Every participant also gets a short, scheduled private piano rehearsal with John Flinders - renowned for his interpretation of clarinet and piano repertoire - to develop your solo playing skills. The course caters for players of all levels, so there is something for everyone. The final concert, after lunch on Sunday, includes items from each small group as well as solo items from Margaret, David and John and a work for clarinet choir. 

By the end of the course you will:  

• Develop your musicianship across both solo and ensemble clarinet playing Improve your sight reading and chamber music skills 
• Discover a wide range of interesting repertoire for clarinet, playing in both small and large ensembles 
• Meet and connect with like-minded clarinet players in a beautiful and relaxed setting 

This varied course includes sessions for full clarinet choirs, small ensemble coaching, masterclasses and individual piano rehearsals for every player. The tutors will split their time across each session. For more confident musicians, our masterclass with David and John on Saturday afternoon will give you a platform to share a short performance of your chosen solo works - while a parallel performance workshop with Margaret will offer less confident performers the chance to share your work in a relaxed group setting. Although Margaret’s can offer guidance to anyone with a classical clarinet, the course as a whole uses modern clarinets pitched at A=440 

Players should ideally be Grade 4 or 5 standard or above, with reasonable sight-reading ability.. 

We’ll provide music for the clarinet choir and ensemble sessions during the course.  

You’ll need to prepare a piece for either solo clarinet or clarinet and piano if you’d like to take part in the masterclass or performance workshop (and please bring two copies with you).  

Please bring one short piece or movement to play with John and don’t forget to bring the piano part too(!)  

Please bring your B flat clarinet, and we encourage everyone to be bring extra ‘harmony’ instruments (E flat, C, A, alto, basset horn, bass or contrabass are all welcome). Please also bring extra reeds, cleaning cloths, cork grease and a peg.