Workshop/Festival/Retreat with the Alexander String Quartet, mezzo soprano Kindra Scharich, and pianist Jeffrey LaDeur

A Schubertiade: Chamber Music and Songs of Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

September 10-13, 2020
Ratna Ling Retreat Center (Sonoma Co., California)


UPDATE — SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS:

Dinners will be bracketed by the following presentations by the Alexander String Quartet, Kindra Scharich, and Jeffrey LaDeur:

Thursday:  “In the Beginning: The Piano, Songs and String Quartets”
Friday:  “Illness, Maturity and High Drama: Songs and Chamber Music for Piano and Strings”
Saturday:  “At the End: Grief and Transcendence”

Each evening also includes: Chamber music reading sessions for participating musicians with members of the Alexander String Quartet

Friday: Music and non-music workshops; health and wellness lecture/seminar with Sharron Dalton

Saturday: Workshop performances; poetry and philosophy lecture/seminars with David Watts and Dennis Dalton

Sunday: Orchestral reading by participating musicians, guest musicians and Apollo faculty (the grand finale)


Overview: Chamber musicians, non-playing music aficionados and friends are invited to an intimate workshop and retreat with the Alexander String Quartet, with assisting artists Kindra Scharich and Jeffrey LaDeur. A Schubertiade: Chamber Music and Songs of Franz Schubert is a four-day health and chamber music Workshop/Festival/Retreat to be held at the Ratna Ling Retreat Center on the weekend of September 10–13, 2020.

While this event takes its inspiration from chamber music workshops such as the weekends sponsored by the Chamber Musicians of Northern California and chamber music festivals such as “Music at Menlo,” the objective of this Workshop/Festival/Retreat is to provide a unique “peak” experience (as defined by the humanist psychologist Abraham Maslow) for the advanced chamber music player, while offering programs in health and humanism that will appeal to both playing and non-playing participants.

Chamber and Lieder Musicians, note: The Friday chamber music workshop sessions are designed for pre-formed ensembles (string quartets, string quintet, or piano and string ensembles) that have prepared a work for intensive coaching and performance. The lieder workshop sessions are available for both playing and non-playing musicians.  All playing musicians should fill out page 3 of the application.

Mind/Body Connection: An additional focus of this retreat is the mind/body synchronization that enhances mental and physical health. Optional sessions include immersion in the natural environment, poetry-writing, yoga and the role of healthy eating habits.

The all-inclusive fee includes accommodations, all meals, admission to all dinner/concerts, seminars and workshops as well as the use of all Ratna Ling facilities and activities. See tentative proposed schedule of events below.

ABOUT FUTURE RETREATS


 

PROPOSED SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (subject to change):

Arrival Thursday (9/10/20)

3:00 – 5:00 PM: Check in
4:00 – 4:30 PM: Welcoming Reception (Patio)
4:30 – 5:30 PM: Pre-dinner segment of evening concert:
“In the Beginning: The Piano, Songs and String Quartets” (Jeff LaDeur, Kindra Scharich, and the Alexander String Quartet)
5:30 – 6:30 PM: Dinner
6:30 – 8:00 PM: Post-dinner segment of evening concert
8:00 – 10:00 PM: Chamber music reading sessions with participants and Apollo Academy musical staff members

Friday (9/11/20)

7:15 – 8:00 AM: Introduction to Yoga (Jo Lewzey, Kim Conner)
8:00 – 9:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 – 11:00 AM: Music workshop session I for pre-formed ensembles and lieder musicians

Session I — Workshops for individuals not participating in workshop sessions for pre-formed ensembles and lieder musicians:
1)  Nutrition workshop
2)  Natural environment
3)  Yoga practice
4)  Meditation practice
5)  Poetry writing workshop
See descriptions below

11:15 AM – 12:15 PM: Morning Lecture/Seminar:
Why and How We Eat What We Eat (Sharron Dalton, Ph.D.)
12:15 – 1:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 – 2:00: Free time
2:00 – 4:00 PM: Music workshop session II for pre-formed ensembles and lieder musicians

Session II — Workshops for individuals not participating in pre-formed string quartet sessions for pre-formed ensembles and lieder musicians:
1)  Nutrition workshop
2)  Natural environment
3)  Yoga practice
4)  Meditation practice
5)  Poetry writing workshop
See descriptions below

4:30 – 5:30 PM: Pre-dinner segment of evening concert:
“Illness, Maturity and High Drama: Songs and Chamber Music for Piano and Strings” (Kindra Scharich, Jeff LaDeur and the Alexander String Quartet)
5:30 – 6:30 PM: Dinner
6:30 – 8:00 PM: Post-dinner segment of evening concert
8:00 – 10:00 PM: Chamber music reading sessions with participants and Apollo Academy musical staff members

Saturday (9/12/20)

7:15 – 8:00 AM: Introduction to Meditation (Rosalyn White, Ratna Ling Staff)
8:00 – 9:00 AM: Breakfast
9:00 – 11:00 AM: Concert program of works prepared by participant string quartet workshop groups
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM: Morning Lecture/Seminar:

“Wordsworth, the Lake Poets, and the Romantic Movement in Poetry” (David Watts, M.D.)
12:15 – 1:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 – 2:00: Free time
2:00 – 4:00 PM: Afternoon Lecture/Seminar
Plato to the Present: Diagnosis and Prescriptions for Our Current Afflictions” (Dennis Dalton, Ph.D.) 

4:30 – 5:30 PM: Pre-dinner segment of evening concert:
“At the End: Grief and Transcendence” (Kindra Scharich, Jeffrey LaDeur and the Alexander String Quartet)
5:30 – 6:30 PM: Dinner
6:30 – 8:00 PM: Post-dinner segment of evening concert
8:00 – 10:00 PM: Chamber music reading sessions with participants and Apollo Academy musical staff members

Sunday (9/13/20)

7:15 – 8:00 AM: Morning Yoga and Meditation session (Rosalyn White, Shari Sunshine, Ratna Ling Staff)
8:00 – 8:30 AM: Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 11:00 AM: String Orchestral Reading by workshop participants, AAHH faculty members, and guest musicians
11:00 – 12:00: Brunch
12:00: Check Out

 

DESCRIPTIONS —
WORKSHOPS FOR NON-PERFORMING PARTICIPANTS:


1) Nutrition Workshop
Sharron Dalton, Apollo Academy’s resident nutritionist, will conduct this workshop with its emphasis on healthy eating practices that will prevent disease and enhance wellness.

2) Natural environment
This workshop will involve “nature walks” in the beautiful natural environment of the Sonoma coast and redwood forest that is immediately adjacent to the Ratna Ling Retreat Center. Guided walks will introduce participants to the area’s plants and wildlife.

3) Yoga Practice
Jo Lewzey, Apollo Academy’s yoga and meditation instructor, will provide participants in this workshop with an in-depth introduction into the health promoting benefits of yoga.

4) Meditation Practice
Ratna Ling’s meditation instructors will provide participants with a taste of the “meditation retreat experience.”

5) Art of Writing Poetry
Dr. David Watts will dive into the creative process of writing poetry, and he will also provide examples of great poetry. Participants will be encouraged to join into the discussion and to bring in examples of their own poetry.

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Future AAHH Workshop/Festivals and Retreats

  1. Mozart and the Age of Enlightenment and Revolution
    Relevant Philosophers:
    Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
    Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
    David Hume (1711-1776)
  2. Bach, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution
    Relevant Philosophers:
    Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679)
    John Locke (1632-1704)
    Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677)
  3. Beethoven, Schubert and the Age of Napoleon
    Relevant Philosophers:
    Georg Wilhelm Fredrich Hegel (1770-1831)
    Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
  4. Brahms and the Emergence of the Modern European Nation States
    Relevant Philosophers:
    John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)
    Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
    Fredrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
  5. Satie, Ravel, Debussy, and the "Belle Époque"
    Relevant Philosophers:
    Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
    Karl Marx (1818-1883)
    Ludwig Josef Wittgenstein (1889-1951)
  6. Bartok, Schoenberg, Shostakowitsch and the Great Wars of the Twentieth Century
    Relevant Philosophers:
    Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
    John Rawls (1921-2002)
    Noam Chomsky (1928- )

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Listen To ASQ

(Allow several seconds for download.)

  • Brahms String Sextet No.1, Op 18 (mvt3)
  • Brahms String Sextet No. 2, Op 36 (mvt3)
  • Brahms String Quintet No.2, Op 111 (mvt3)

DOWNLOAD 2020 BROCHURE PDF