WHAT IS THE FIVESPARKS MUSIC FESTIVAL?
The Fivesparks Music Festival (formerly the Harvard Music Festival) is an annual, weeklong chamber music festival — open to the public, in Harvard Massachusetts — for musicians to be coached by established performers and educators from the Boston area. This event is designed to attract young professionally-bound musicians who focus on learning and improving chamber music skills and knowledge. Musician ensembles work during the week to perfect a chosen piece and participate in daily preparation, rehearsal, coaching and masterclasses, culminating in a live concert performance for a community audience. The public is invited to observe select rehearsals and masterclasses and to provide feedback to musicians, in order to stretch them in their discipline. These sessions are FREE to the public (although donations are welcome).
MEET OUR COACHES
Our coaches help musicians improve their understanding of the work and how to impart emotion when playing. They are highly respected in their disciplines and in addition to working with each ensemble, they provide individual instruction to musicians. These workshops offer necessary skills as musicians advance toward becoming professionals performing for an audience on a larger stage.
FESTIVAL GOALS
The festival’s primary goal is to build connections within and beyond the community, through the shared experience of music making, listening, and performance. Key to achieving this is the guidance coaches provide to ensembles, as well as to musicians individually. Audiences auditing rehearsal and coaching sessions throughout the week can follow the musicians’ progress and gain appreciation for individual pieces – as well as for the time and work invested in the process – as they observe musicians and coaches working together. A secondary goal has been to foster a deep appreciation – by both musicians and audience members – of music-making and engaged collective listening, and to introduce the community to musicians from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The audience is welcomed to observe the musicians’ process and build relationships with them at a personal level, through curiosity and interactive engagement. The event has become a place of learning, making, teaching – a time for shared appreciation of the creative arts.
Performance: Musicians perform a work in progress in front of an audience.
Expert Instruction: A highly skilled musician, often a renowned performer or teacher, leads the masterclass.
Targeted Critique: After the performance, the instructor critiques the musicians’ technique, interpretation, and stage presence, offering guidance for improvement.
Learning for All: The masterclass setting allows not just the performing student but also the audience (other musicians and sometimes the general public) to learn from the expert’s insights and the student’s performance.
Musicians watching other musicians perform and being exposed to the instructor’s approach can be inspiring and informative.
Performing in front of an audience, even with potential critique, helps build confidence and stage presence.