Upcoming NSO Events and Tickets

  2023- 2024 Full Season Tickets
  2023-2024 SYMPHONY SERIES
  April 14, 2024 Children's Concert
  May 19, 2024 Symphony Concert

Applications for the Betsy L. Kent Youth Concerto Competition are available here

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When we’re playing chamber music, we’re often encouraged to look at or make eye contact with our music-making colleagues.

But how important is this really? Isn’t it enough to just be a good listener?

Previous research has found a connection between body movements and the precision of ensemble playing. But it hasn’t been clear if musicians’ body movements facilitate better ensemble playing, or if body movements are just a byproduct of good ensemble playing.

So a team of Canadian researchers (Chang et al., 2017) recruited two professional quartets (the Afiara and Cecilia quartets), and asked them to perform a series of 2-5 minute quartet excerpts, ranging from Bach chorales to movements from the Haydn and Mozart quartets.

Before each run-through, everyone in the quartet was given a secret assignment – to be either a leader or a follower (regardless of who was first violin or had the melody).

Each musician’s movements were monitored with a motion capture system, and then they performed a run-through of the excerpt in two different ways.

Once, while facing each other as a quartet normally would (seeing condition).

And another time while facing 180° away from each other (nonseeing condition).

And was there any difference?

The researchers found that followers did have some impact on the group.

But the leader’s movements had the strongest influence on the rest of the group. And this was especially true when ensemble members were facing each other.

All of the musicians were also asked to rate the quality of each run-through.

And the more in-sync the group members’ body movements were, the more positively they tended to rate the performance.

Of course, this requires knowing your part, and your partners’ parts to some degree as well. But while listening attentively still matters a ton, it does seem like our coaches were right when they suggested that we use our eyes as well as our ears!

Click through to get all the nerdy details: bulletproofmusician.com/great-ensemble-player-may-require-just-ears/
... See MoreSee Less

When we’re playing chamber music, we’re often encouraged to look at or make eye contact with our music-making colleagues. 

But how important is this really? Isn’t it enough to just be a good listener?

Previous research has found a connection between body movements and the precision of ensemble playing. But it hasn’t been clear if musicians’ body movements facilitate better ensemble playing, or if body movements are just a byproduct of good ensemble playing.

So a team of Canadian researchers (Chang et al., 2017) recruited two professional quartets (the Afiara and Cecilia quartets), and asked them to perform a series of 2-5 minute quartet excerpts, ranging from Bach chorales to movements from the Haydn and Mozart quartets.

Before each run-through, everyone in the quartet was given a secret assignment – to be either a leader or a follower (regardless of who was first violin or had the melody). 

Each musician’s movements were monitored with a motion capture system, and then they performed a run-through of the excerpt in two different ways.

Once, while facing each other as a quartet normally would (seeing condition). 

And another time while facing 180° away from each other (nonseeing condition).

And was there any difference?

The researchers found that followers did have some impact on the group.

But the leader’s movements had the strongest influence on the rest of the group. And this was especially true when ensemble members were facing each other.

All of the musicians were also asked to rate the quality of each run-through. 

And the more in-sync the group members’ body movements were, the more positively they tended to rate the performance.

Of course, this requires knowing your part, and your partners’ parts to some degree as well. But while listening attentively still matters a ton, it does seem like our coaches were right when they suggested that we use our eyes as well as our ears!

Click through to get all the nerdy details: https://bulletproofmusician.com/great-ensemble-player-may-require-just-ears/

One of the best ways to encourage enthusiasm is opportunity and exposure. Know any young friends or teachers you want to invite to our Children & Family Concert on 14 April?

www.facebook.com/share/5oLiSABfEcwUCbzP/?mibextid=9l3rBW
... See MoreSee Less

One of the best ways to encourage enthusiasm is opportunity and exposure.  Know any young friends or teachers you want to invite to our Children & Family Concert on 14 April?

https://www.facebook.com/share/5oLiSABfEcwUCbzP/?mibextid=9l3rBWImage attachmentImage attachment+1Image attachment
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