The Lyrical Bass Clarinet

Elevate your bass clarinet playing with a focus on lyricism and expression, in this creative masterclass taught by tutors Sarah Watts and Antony Clare, where you’ll develop your techniques in sound and colour control and expressive phrasing. Enjoy playing through a range of new repertoire for bass clarinet and piano, as well as music for whole bass clarinet choir, including works by Jonathan Russell and a world premiere piece by Basha Öberg. You’ll get to work together as one large ensemble, as well as smaller workshops with a chance to develop a solo work of your choice for piano accompaniment with Antony. The course includes a ticket to Sarah and Antony’s concert on the Saturday evening, as well as an informal concert on the final day to celebrate your work as an ensemble.

By the end of the course you will: Develop your bass clarinet playing with a range of helpful techniques in embouchure, sound and colour control, fingering advice and expressive phrasing. Learn a range of exciting new music, and feel comfortable tackling new works. Grow your appreciation of the repertoire for bass clarinet and piano. Develop your solo and ensemble playing skills, and play together with like minded musicians in a full bass clarinet choir.

We’ll work in a mix of whole group classes covering general technique, as well as splitting into smaller group sessions with the chance for tailored coaching and advice on selected pieces. We’ll host an informal sharing concert at the end of the course to perform the clarinet choir pieces.

For bass clarinet players looking to develop your playing in both solo and ensemble settings. We recommend a playing standard of Grade 7 and above, with some pre-existing ensemble experience. You’ll need to feel comfortable performing solo in a small group masterclass setting.

We’ll share the selected ensemble works in advance so you have time to familiarise yourself with them. You’ll also need to choose a solo piece (for bass clarinet and piano) to workshop with Antony - but don’t worry about it being polished - and bring the sheet music with you, plus a spare copy for our tutors. Please bring your instrument and any reeds or other parts needed for general upkeep - you might also want a pencil for notetaking.