Robert McDuffie Center for Strings hosts eighth annual Labor Day Festival
Eight high-school musicians from across the country were invited to Macon to showcase their talents and to practice, and perform alongside renowned artists and faculty of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University for its eighth annual Labor Day Festival.
The intensive, hands-on workshop is for prospective music students who will perform the quartets they’ve learned in only three days with faculty and the Center String Ensemble on Monday afternoon. Four violinists, two violists and two cellists were chosen for the program after applying via YouTube videos, said Amy Schwartz Moretti, director of the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings.
“(The annual Labor Day Festival) began as a way to get young, talented string players here in Macon to see Mercer (and) experience what we do here at the center,” Schwartz-Moretti said. “The center has evolved and (the event) serves as a great recruiting weekend for us, but it’s also just a way for these students to come and learn more, too. So, it works both ways.”
The students are immersed in master classes, coachings and rehearsals with Grammy-nominated violinist and founder of the center, Robert McDuffie, among other musicians.
“They learn more in these three days than they learn in an entire summer,” Schwartz-Moretti said of the students. “It’s that healthy of a schedule and impactful for them.”
McDuffie said the Labor Day Festival has become much more competitive since its first year in 2007.
“We were bringing in 16 juniors and seniors from high schools, but now that we’re pretty much full at the center, we bring in eight of some of the top high school seniors in the country,” McDuffie said. “We’re attracting some really talented artists. Over 30 percent of the Labor Day (Festival) recruits end up coming here, which is a number we’re really proud of.”
The other 70 percent of invitees historically wound up studying at competing music schools such as The Juilliard School, McDuffie said.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind losing a kid to Juilliard because we ended up being the second choice and that’s only after eight years,” McDuffie said. “We have kids who choose us over Juilliard. So, we’re in a really good place. We don’t have an inferiority complex.”
Elena Ariza, a senior at Menlo School in Atherton, California, was one of the two cellists invited to the festival. Ariza has been playing for 13 years and said she learned about the opportunity from a Mercer student she met at a different music festival.
“Each day is very intense since we’ve got a full schedule,” Ariza said in between practices at the Bell House.
Ariza said she also has an interest in computer science and plans to apply to Yale University, Columbia University, Juilliard School and Colburn School among others. By her second day of practice, she’d gotten a feel for the school.
“Since it’s very secluded, it’s a very ideal place to practice and work on your music making,” Ariza said of Robert McDuffie Center for Strings. “I guess there’s fewer people per class than a normal conservatory, so that lets the faculty focus on each student more.”
Only 26 students are enrolled at the center, which boasts a revolving door of 10 visiting master musicians as its teaching faculty. Duffie said he doesn’t want the program to grow and larger.
“I think the intimacy is the magic of it,” McDuffie said. “It’s a different model. There are too many schools of music and conservatories anyway. Why would we want to be like anybody else?”
Schwartz-Moretti said 14 states and three foreign countries are represented in the center’s student body.
“We’re attracting people from all over the world to come here to Macon to study classical music,” Schwartz-Moretti said. “Then, they will go out and spread the word about Macon and how wonderful their time was.”
THE CONCERT
The festival’s closing concert features current students, invited participants and faculty and will take place in Mercer University’s Fickling Hall at 3 p.m. Monday.
McDuffie and Schwartz-Moretti will play the first notes.
“We’re going to open the program with a really fun duo for violins and piano,” said Schwartz-Moretti. “Then, we’re having some other faculty play a very famous music from Schubert’s trout quintet and they’re going to play alongside one of our center’s seniors.”
The eight high-schoolers will split up and perform two quartets before the orchestra takes the second half of the show.
“We’re doing this beautiful piece by Evan Williams which incorporates a second orchestra, which will be up in the loft in Fickling Hall,” Schwartz-Moretti said. “It’s a very moving work. A lot of it is quiet, very thoughtful, but it’s one of those masterpieces that’s just extremely heartfelt and moving.”
Schwartz-Moretti said the most rewarding part of the weekend is performing alongside the students and, “feeling that energy.”
“I want people to know that classical music is a living art form and the opportunities that we have here at Mercer and in Macon are so great for classical music,” Schwartz-Moretti said. “Yes, Macon has this Southern rock heritage, but classical music is alive and well.”
To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter at @Lauraecor.
When: 3 p.m. Monday
Where: Mercer University’s Fickling Hall
Cost: Free. Seating is limited and is on first-come basis
Information: 478-301-2886
This story was originally published September 6, 2015 at 10:24 PM with the headline "Robert McDuffie Center for Strings hosts eighth annual Labor Day Festival ."