 | | | Gold Coast Chamber Players at a recent "Topics in Tempo" session. Photo provided | | | | | | "Music gives ... wings to the mind ... and life to everything." -Plato
People who have enjoyed the wonderful music played by the Gold Coast Chamber Players may heartily agree with the Plato quote above. Performing since 1987, the Gold Coast Chamber Players have made their home in Lafayette for the last 15 years, entertaining audiences with their unique, inspiring sounds.
When asked to differentiate chamber players from an orchestra, artistic director, viola player and co-founder of Gold Coast, Pamela Freund-Striplen, said that with chamber music, it's one person playing one part. "Each person is like a soloist, which makes the collaboration really interesting and really vibrant. Each player contributes and interacts in a deeply personal and artistic fashion. Musicians often feel that's where they do their best work, feel most alive," she explained.
Freund-Striplen is as passionate about education as she is about music and, over the years, has brought concerts to most of the Lamorinda schools. She has also developed two outstanding programs to help bring beautiful music to kids and one program that helps kids bring beautiful music to Gold Coast audiences.
For 14 years, Gold Coast has been mentoring talented, young students by giving them the opportunity to perform in a professional concert. In fact, the May 4 season finale, "Virtuosi," at the Lafayette Library will feature this year's student, violinist and Palo Alto High School senior Megan Rohrer. Past performances have featured the Acalanes Chamber singers and musicians from both Campolindo High School and Stanley Middle School.
Freund-Striplen notes that students "soak up the experience of playing with professionals." One former student, Orinda pianist Chloe Pang, said that "having the opportunity to make my formal chamber music debut with ... Gold Coast ... was a great honor and an unforgettable experience. ... Gold Coast allowed me to voice my ideas and treated me as a colleague, inspiring me to play at my highest level."
Ever since moving to Lafayette, a portion of each Gold Coast concert has been brought into the local schools. The students get a sneak peek of an upcoming show, as well as the chance to speak with the musicians about their music, instruments and profession. "This program is designed to create excitement among the kids and encourage them to come to the performance with their family," Freund-Striplen explained.
The most ambitious and, according to Freund-Striplen "the most difficult to explain," Topics in Tempo is described as "an invigorating instructional program that brings students, teachers and professional musicians together.
"We found that, while Sneak Previews got the students excited, it didn't seem to go beyond the moment," Freund-Striplen said. "It was an enrichment program with not much sticking power." Seven years ago she and her husband, professional clarinetist Tony Striplen, developed Topics in Tempo for grades K-5. The program uses a single movement from a classical piece to teach basic academics over a five-day period.
Beginning with Language Arts, Freund-Striplen said students "listen to a recording of the classical music and create a story inspired by it." For the math section, the kids "study fractions and division by exploring rhythm and beats; we talk about how you feel things differently depending on whether it's a meter of 3 or 4. The kids then become 'maestros,' conducting the piece."
In science "we talk about how sound travels, experimenting with different types of strings and how the pitch changes," Freund-Striplen said. "We often bring in a professional violin maker; the kids love that." The social studies section is, according to Freund-Striplen, "the most fun. We take four very small sound bites from the music and the kids learn how to sing them; they then become composers by ordering the four bites and varying the pitch, tempo or character."
The week concludes with the Topics in Tempo quartet coming into the classroom and playing the piece live. "We tie all the concepts together," Freund-Striplen said. "We've found that year after year, the kids remember what they learned."
Freund-Striplen noted that Gold Coast feels very fortunate to call Lafayette home, stating the audiences are very enthusiastic. "We're always looking for ways to reach more of the community. We want to have a personal relationship with our audience and have them enjoy every piece we perform."
Perhaps Bono said it best: "Music can change the world because it can change people."
Gold Coast will close out this special 15th season at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4 with a high-energy concert at the Lafayette Library, followed by an anniversary celebration featuring catering from Whole Foods Market. Freund-Striplen said "we're pulling out all the stops" at this final show. "There will be effervescence, jubilance and each piece, on its own, could be a show stopper."
For tickets, visit www.gcplayers.org or call (925) 283-3728.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA