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Britt for kids: Camp draws elite musicians: Ashland-based Chamber Strings Camp combines practice and performance By Amanda Bolsinger For the Tidings Walking into Ashland Middle School, beautiful string music fills the halls. The chamber music being played by quartets is amazing on its own, but even more impressive is that the musicians are not seasoned pros, but middle and high school students. More than 30 of the country's best young string musicians have gathered in Ashland for two weeks for the Chamber Strings Camp, put on by the Britt Institute. "These are very sophisticated kids. Chamber music isn't the norm, it's very challenging. There is no conductor, so it's up to the individual musician what they want the music to say," said camp director David MacKenzie. The members of the highly acclaimed Pacifica quartet are the faculty for the camp, offering each participant private as well as group lessons. Pacifica will be performing at the Britt festival in Ashland through Aug. 8. The 32 participants at the camp were selected by video auditions or by being known to Pacifica as a promising young musician. The kids arrived at the camp already assigned to quartets consisting of two violinists, a violist and a cellist. The quartets were built based on age and level of musicianship. Each quartet received its music Monday morning and had four days to learn and perfect their music before a Friday afternoon performance. "The key thing for a quartet is coordination and communication. That's the biggest thing that being a camp helps you learn," said 18-year-old Elizabeth Knopp of Portland. Knopp has been playing the violin for eight years, and this is her third year to attend the camp. Knopp's quartet includes 16-year-old Joanna Grosshans of Chicago, 15-year-old Maryne Mossey of Minnesota and 15-year-old Eric Reinhart of Portland. They became acquianted and quickly learned to work together to perfect their rendition of Beethoven's Opus 18, No. Four. "This is a very intensive study of Chamber Strings music. The kids are learning to work together. They learn about their own playing and how to play with other musicians," said Pacifica violist Masumi. The Chamber Strings Camp gives the kids amazing opportunites to further their musical education. "You see a lot of progress in the two weeks. The learning curve is very steep. These kids' abilities are great," said MacKenzie. "Normally these kids have school and work and friends, as well as music. Here they can devote all of their time to their music. They play five to seven hours a day besides the practice they do on their own." The quartets have two performances while in Ashland. They will be performing in free public recitals Friday at 1:30 p.m. and Aug. 8th at 10:00 a.m. at the Unitarian Church. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -