Southwestern Ontario Suzuki Institute Inc.

Student Institute Aug. 13–18 | Teacher Development Aug. 12–20, 2023 | In Person at WLU & Online

Young Artist Program in Viola

This class is open to senior violin students, and provides instruction in a setting that moves towards traditional music college/university instruction while maintaining roots in Suzuki philosophy and pedagogy. It is expected that these senior players, who provide a role model to other participating students, will join enthusiastically in other Institute events.

Students Eligible:

Violists who have completed Suzuki Bk. 8 or who are working at a Grade 9 RCM level or higher. Admission to the YAP program is based on invitation following a successful video audition.

Daily in-person only program includes:
  • Daily public Master Class (half-hour per student) with Christine Vlajk (ON)
  • Daily Group Class
  • Daily Advanced Orchestra rehearsal
  • Solo performance at the end of the week

Daily Optional Classes: (you may choose one option)
  • Fiddling
  • Bass for Strings
  • Singing with Marion (choir)
  • Chamber Music
  • Klezmer Music
  • Composition for Beginners
  • Percussion
  • Music through the Ages

Cost: $690 CDN. Optional classes extra

Please note that mature students may better handle the audition process and the public master class instruction in the Young Artist Program. While there are no age limits, high school-age students may adapt to this somewhat more intense experience more easily than younger children. The regular Senior String program is another very rewarding option available for advanced students who are not sure about the YAP, or who are not accepted into the program (there is strictly limited enrolment in the YAP).

Application deadline is May 1, 2023

Prepare your video audition, upload to a web hosting service, and email download links to Elayne Ras by May 1, 2023 (no exceptions). See the Video Audition instructions.

NOTE: Audition recordings will not be processed until we have received the registration fee. Some classes will begin on Sunday August 13, and you will be notified via email about the specific times.

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Violist Christine Vlajk has performed extensively in North and South America, Europe, much of China, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Some of the concert halls where she has performed with the Penderecki String Quartet have included Weill Concert Hall at Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Kennedy Center, REDCAT Hall in Los Angeles, and the Hong Kong Academy to name a few.

She has held the positions of violist of the Penderecki String Quartet and Artist-in-Residence in viola and chamber music at Laurier University since 1997. She has received Prizes at the Banff, Coleman, Yellow Springs, Carmel and Evian Chamber Music Competitions. She was granted the Friedlander Fellowship from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory and Scholarships to attend the Aspen Center for Advanced Quartet Studies, The Julliard and Cleveland Quartet Seminars, all helping to pave the road for a life as a chamber musician.

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Vlajk has Bachelor degrees in Viola Performance (B.M.) and Music Education (B.M.E.) from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a Masters degree in Viola Performance (M.M.) from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Her teachers have included Oswald Lehnert, Jerry Horner, Denes Koromzay and members of the Cleveland, Julliard, LaSalle, Takacs, and Fine Arts Quartets.

She has been guest soloist with the West Virginia Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, Peterborough Symphony and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. She has performed recitals in Canada, the United States and Germany.
She has premiered two viola concertos by Peter Grella-Mozejko and Karol Gostyniski. As an orchestral player she has held the position of principal violist of the West Virginia Symphony and was a member of the New Hampshire Music Festival.

Dedicated to the education of young people, she has performed an extensive series of children’s concerts across the United States and Canada. She has given master classes at Lynn Conservatory, Indiana University’s String Academy, Florida State University, University of Toronto, SUNY Fredonia, the Glenn Gould Professional School and many places in Mexico, China and New Zealand.

As a member of the Penderecki String Quartet and the Montclaire Quartet, Vlajk has recorded nearly 30 recordings for the Koch, Leonarda, Eclectra, Marquis Classics and EMI labels. When she is not performing with her quartet or teaching her wonderful students, she enjoys nature, yoga, cooking and the finer things in life.
NOTE: All information, classes, faculty, etc. are subject to change depending on enrolment.