cello young artist program

Young Artist Program in Cello

This class is open to senior cello 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:

Cellists who have completed Suzuki Bk. 7 or who are working at a Grade 8 RCM level or higher.

Daily in-person only program includes:

Daily public Master Class (half-hour per student) with Paul Pulford (NB)
Daily Cello Choir
Daily Advanced Orchestra rehearsal
Solo performance at the end of the week

Daily Optional Classes: (you may choose up to two options)

Chamber Music
Choir for Everyone!
Fiddling
Handbells
Improv
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, 2024

Prepare your video audition, upload it to a web hosting service, and email download links to Elayne Ras by May 1st (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 11, and you will be notified via email about the specific times.

Cellist Paul Pulford is a chamber musician, soloist, conductor and educator. Since his debut recital in Winnipeg, he has performed on four continents and has recorded over 30 CDs.
For over 25 years, Pulford pursued a passion for the string quartet, playing with the internationally acclaimed Penderecki String Quartet from 1990-2013 and Orford String Quartet from 1987-1989. With the Penderecki Quartet he recorded many CDs, including the Bartok String Quartets; Brahms, Shostakovich and Schnittke Piano Quintets; the quartets of Penderecki and many works by Canadian composers.

As a quartet player, Pulford has performed in many of the great venues of the world, including Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Wigmore Hall, London; Oratorio del Gonfalone, Rome; La Caxia, Barcelona; Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York City; Kennedy Centre, Washington; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Takefu Festival in Japan; Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City; National Arts Centre, Glenn Gould Studio & St. Lawrence Centre, Canada; to name a few.
From 1989 to 2017 Pulford was Professor of Cello and Director of Orchestral Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, where he also served for seven years as Associate Dean of Music. During his tenure at Laurier he developed a professional-level orchestral training program and taught and mentored many cellists and orchestral musicians who are now part of the professional music world in Canada and abroad. In 1991, Pulford founded QuartetFest, a festival based at Laurier that celebrates the art of the string quartet with performances by international ensembles and mentorship of emerging string quartets from around the world. Pulford remains Professor Emeritus at Laurier.

Paul was an artist-in-residence at UNB Fredericton as a member of the New Brunswick String Quartet from 1984-1989. He lives in Long Reach, New Brunswick, with his partner Anne-Marie Donovan

NOTE: All information, classes, faculty, etc. are subject to change depending on enrolment.