Page 71 - Virtual Benedetti Sessions Coverage Book

tuition covering not just string playing but general musicianship, physical and mental wellbeing,
singing and rhythmic workouts and technique tips.

Again, the sessions are structured so that pupils of all ages and musical abilities can take part.

“We are catering for students working at conservatoire level, and young pupils who can do

nothing except bash pots and pans,” Benedetti says. “And we are creating formats in which all

of them can play alongside each other at some point. We will have the most unbelievable

virtuosity right next to kids who are non-instrumentalists.”

The grand finale will be a celebratory online concert at 4pm on May 31, where the rising

American conductor Karina Canellakis will lead an abridged version of Vaughan

Williams’s Tallis Fantasia (including specially arranged parts for inexperienced string players)
alongside music by Tchaikovsky, Warlock and Tallis. How will that work with all the

participants in different places?

“Well, as everyone has discovered in the past few weeks, the technology for online meetings,

such as Zoom, doesn’t work for live ensemble music-making because of the time delay,”

Benedetti says. “I expect there are a lot of tech-minded musicians, or music-minded techies, out
there trying to overcome the time-lag problem, but there’s nothing better right now. So our

tutors and ambassadors [the professional musicians and teachers Benedetti has recruited to run

the sessions] will be recording the basic layers of the pieces. Then during the three weeks of the

sessions we will be taking in videos sent to us by the participants, with them playing the same

pieces. They will be integrated into the final product that will be shown on May 31.”

Benedetti has been careful to take into account what the reality of lockdown looks like for the

young musicians she is targeting. “What I’m hearing is that the amount of schoolwork expected
of children is actually quite significant and that schools are being serious about expecting

students to sign in, attend online classes and do homework,” she says. “It’s not like children are

sitting round twiddling their thumbs. So we have worked around the normal school day,

scheduling our sessions either first thing in the morning or at lunchtimes, or like an after-school

club, with sessions for conservatoire-level players stretching into the evening.

“And of course you don’t have to sign up officially to the whole three weeks. We will be on

open platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, so people can just dip in
occasionally if they want.”

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