YES Academy Egypt 2021 – July Online Workshops

Composition

Composition will be taught by composer, arranger, and percussionist, Dr. Jamie Whitmarsh of Oklahoma City University. The program will include two hours of daily online group sessions with a class of 12 young Egyptian composers and up to two private lessons during the YES Academy program. Class times remain to be determined but will normally take place between 3 and 6pm Cairo time.

Among the activities of the composition program:

• You will be given a composition assignment upon acceptance into the program. All completed compositions will be rehearsed, recorded in audio and video and performed by the faculty in the final online concert.
• Group sessions will feature analysis of major contemporary scores of the 19th and 20th century as well as the exploration of recent and emerging trends in new music in the U.S and Europe.
• Other topics to be addressed: notation, orchestration and instrumentation, arranging, analysis and contemporary music theory.
• All participants will receive a certificate of completion of the YES Academy program as well as audio and video copies of the recordings of their compositions. Compositions will be uploaded to the YES Academy Cairo YouTube channel.

Conducting

The conducting program taught by maestro Carlos Botero will cover a wide range of the fundamentals of conducting ranging from conducting technique, interpretation, score study, to analysis, rehearsal technique, stage deportment, and musician interaction.

The workshop presents an overview of the basic elements and foundations of orchestral conducting and develops knowledge of conducting techniques, overall musicianship, and leadership.

The online program will serve as an overture to a planned live in-person program towards the end of 2021.

The program will run daily for up to two hours in the late afternoon and early evening.

Participants from ages 16 to 30 will be chosen for the program based on their talent, motivation, and potential.

Singer/Songwriters Program

The craft of being a singer-songwriter is forever a work in progress, from writing, recording and performing songs to building a fan base and successful career.

Kate Bass of Pepperdine University will help singer-songwriters of all levels of experience attain success in every aspect. Among the topics covered in the working:

• how to develop ideas into lyrics and music, then refine and record them for both demo purposes and ultimately a marketable product.
• Improved accompaniment skills
• techniques to better execute both the singing and accompaniment, and then marry the two as a stronger union
• being an effective story-teller through song and performance
• training in artist-entrepreneurship and the needed business skills to promote your art into sustainable careers including branding, booking, distribution, publicity, networking, and good general business practices.

The program will run daily for two hours in the late afternoon and early evening. Selected participants will be invited to perform at the online Open Mic (date to be determined) and online Final Concert on July 31. The online program will serve as an overture to a planned live in-person program towards the end of 2021.

Participants from ages 16 to 30 will be chosen for the program based on their talent, motivation and potential.

Broadway Stars

The Broadway Stars Musical Theater program with Kate Bass of Pepperdine University in Los Angeles and will be comprised of group classes and small group and short solo lessons.

The program will focus on solo singing of songs from the Broadway repertoire as well as the study of the history and repertoire of musical theater over the past 80 years as explored via its choreography, acted scenes and solo and ensemble music.

For performers, Broadway demands a unique combination of acting, dancing and singing skills not often taught in University and Conservatory programs. More and more, classical musicians, dancers and actors are expected to have some experience in Musical Theater and the familiarity with the genre may lead to new performance opportunities in your professional life.

The Broadway Musical Theater program of the YES Academy is designed for singers, actors and dancers who want to improve their knowledge and skills in the art form. Most participants will come into this program with a background in only music, theater or dance. The program is designed to accommodate your area of experience as well as to help you discover talents you may have thought you never had in music, dance and acting. Your artistic boundaries will certainly be expanded.

The program will run daily for two hours in the late afternoon and early evening. Selected participants will be invited to perform at the online Open Mic (date to be determined) and online Final Concert on July 31. The online program will serve as an overture to a planned live in-person program towards the end of 2021.

Participants from ages 16 to 30 will be chosen for the program based on their talent, motivation and potential.

String Pedagogy

The String Pedagogy program will be taught by Dr. Greg Hurley of East Carolina University (retired) and will cover a wide range of the fundamentals of teaching beginning solo and ensemble strings to children. The program will cover a wide range of skills from review of methods books for solo instrument and ensembles, best practices in teaching basic technical concepts and note-reading and building up a string program in your school and community.

• Review of diverse U.S. and international beginning level teaching methods for string instruments in both solo and group settings: Suzuki, Roland, Essential Elements, etc
• Learn best practices in teaching basic technical concepts – bow hold, finger position, intonation, music note reading, etc.
• How to build a youth orchestra in your community
• Educational advising and counseling for those wanting to study at Graduate level in the U.S.
• A PDF Library of method books for solo instruments and ensembles will be provided to participants.

The program will run daily for up to two hours in the late afternoon and early evening.

Participants from ages 18 to 30 are welcome.

Wind and Brass Instruments Pedagogy

The Winds and Brass Pedagogy program will be taught by Dr. Amr Selim (Stony Brook University, NY) of The Lebanese American University and will cover a wide range of the fundamentals of teaching beginning solo and ensemble strings to middle and high school students. The program will run daily for two hours during the Academy. The program will cover a wide range of skills from review of methods books for solo instrument and ensembles, best practices in teaching basic technical concepts and note-reading and building up a band program in your school and community.

• Fundamental teaching methods for teaching instrumental wind and brass instruments in middle and high schools: solo, chamber and bands.
• Review of Teaching methods and etudes for solo instruments
• Ways to build a youth band or orchestra in your community
• Educational advising and counseling for those wanting to study at Graduate level in the U.S.
• PDF Library of method books for solo instruments and ensembles

Winds and Brass Techniques

The Winds and Brass Techniques program will be taught by Dr. Amr Selim (Stony Brook University, NY) of The Lebanese American University and will cover a wide range of fundamental practice techniques, as well as ways to improve your performer skills and ensemble playing. The program will run daily for two hours during the Academy.

• Ways to fix basic technical problems: embouchure, tone, intonation, articulation
• Tips for more efficient ensemble performance
• Discovering how to become your own teacher
• Incorporating improvisation into your practice session
• Finding the balance between your body and instrument